Parasole working on Wisconsin Dells resort steakhouse

A relationship forged in a Mayo Clinic doctor's office led Parasole Restaurant Holdings and Kalahari Resorts and Conventions to work together on a high-end Wisconsin Dells restaurant.

Kalahari hired Edina-based Parasole, the group behind Chino Latino, Manny's Steakhouse, Pittsburgh Blue Steakhouse and several other Twin Cities restaurants, to create Double Cut, a new on-site restaurant concept that will open in November.

"These guys are some of the best restaurant operators in the country, so I have no problem having them come in here and oversee things," said Kalahari President and owner Todd Nelson.

Parasole's consulting arm, Idein, is working with Kalahari, a convention center, water park, theme park and Wisconsin's second-largest hotel.

Idein has worked on several local and out-of-state restaurants over the years, but Parasole has slowed down on consulting recently because it has been in "growth mode" for its 13 local restaurants, said Vice President for Business Development Kip Clayton. Parasole brass jumped at the chance to collaborate with Kalahari because it is run by likeminded people, he said.

Double Cut will be a steak and seafood restaurant. It will take the place of Kahunaville, which Nelson said didn't fit the needs of conventioneers, who represent 45 percent of guests and left the resort for a high-end steakhouse.

"It is going to be a very modern take on a great American steakhouse, but it's not your mother's steakhouse," Clayton said. "It's as modern or cool as anything you would find in L.A., New York or Miami."

Manny's Steakhouse is one of Nelson's favorite restaurants. He was familiar with Parasole's work, but it wasn't until a visit to his doctor, Clay Cowell at Mayo Clinic, that he connected with the company.

When Nelson told his doctor that he wanted to open a steakhouse in the Kalahari, Cowell whipped out his cell phone and called another patient, Parasole founder and CEO Phil Roberts.

"We called him while I was sitting on the table," Nelson said.

Kalahari also owns a resort in Sandusky, Ohio, and is building a $350 million third resort in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, scheduled to open in late 2014 or early 2015. Nelson said a Double Cut is in the blueprints for that resort, and he also wants to add a Double Cut to the Sandusky location.

Reported:  Mpls St. Paul Business Journal