Market Bar-B-Que moving from downtown to northeast Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - Market Bar-B-Que has been serving up ribs and brisket for 72 years in downtown Minneapolis, but now, it's heading to a new neighborhood.

From the Nat King Cole Trio to Jay Leno, generations of entertainers have dined at Market Bar-B-Que.

“We have a lot of memories here, family memories,” said Anthony Polski, a co-owner of Market Bar-B-Que.

The business has been in the Polski family for more than seven decades.

“I know me and my father both believe if you're standing still, you're not going anywhere,” said Polski. “And we're moving forward, we're evolving, which you have to do in business.”

The Polskis are evolving once again. They are moving the restaurant from Nicollet Avenue near the convention center to northeast Minneapolis. They say the block on which the restaurant currently sits will be re-developed.

“We had a feeling it was going to go on and the people that were developing it were nice enough to give us the time to get through these steps,” he said.

It's another recent change in the downtown neighborhood. Just weeks ago, a building at 15th and Nicollet was torn down to make way for a new development, featuring apartments and space for retail.

Long-time resident Victoria Taylor says the pace of redevelopment is overwhelming and the loss of Market Bar-B-Que will change the character of the area.

“Uptown changed a lot too, our dear Uptown Bar and Grill was torn down to and turned into an Apple store,” said Taylor.

But the Polskis believe in the end, the change will be good for the neighborhood and they haven't ruled out a return once the new development finished.

“For that to happen and for this area to get better, we need to step away for a little bit, and come back,” said Polski.