Compromise keeps Tin Fish in business

The Minneapolis Park Board and owners of the popular lakeside restaurant Tin Fish have come to an agreement that'll keep the business open.

Tin Fish's lease with the park board ran out late last year. A park board subcommittee wanted to renegotiate the lease so that 20 percent of its revenues would go to rent and improvements. Tin Fish owner Sheffield Priest said that was too high.

Last night, the park board voted unanimously (8-0) to approve a contract that sought a compromise. The lease is complicated, but basically the park board will get about 18 percent of the restaurant's revenues -- with 3 percent of that going toward improvements to the building.

Tin Fish owner Sheffield Priest said those terms are agreeable to him.

"All of you have been working hard on this and we've been working hard on this," he told the board at the meeting. "And we know that there are a lot of people behind me who love the Tin Fish who've also been hard on this. And I just wanted to say thanks for all the support. We can all just enjoy the Tin Fish this summer."

Erwin said many residents had come forward in support of the Lake Calhoun restaurant.

"I was here along with three other commissioners when we approved the Tin Fish originally and we received a lot of emails because people were upset about approving a restaurant in a park," he said. "And I think that's it's really rewarding to us to see how committed people are now to saving this and having it in the park."

Curtis Gilbert contributed reporting to this post.

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