I’m a foodie.
But it’s not my skills in the kitchen (average at best) that make me a self-proclaimed enthusiast de cuisine.
It’s my love of consuming food and wine, watching cooking shows (Top Chef! Master Chef!), reading cookbooks (rarely used) and poring over food magazines (Cook’s Illustrated!).
Talking about food with friends? Endlessly entertaining! Sampling all the food in the Twin Cities’ incredibly exciting restaurant scene? That’s an actual hobby for me.
And I know I’m not alone in this — not in the slightest.
That’s why this month’s Minnesota Good Age Cover Star holds such a special place in my heart.
Molly Broder owns three highly acclaimed local restaurants — Broders’ Pasta Bar, Broders’ Cucina Italiana and, the newest, Terzo, all located on different corners at 50th and Penn in Southwest Minneapolis.
In my book, anyone who can thrive in the restaurant business — for more than 30 years, while raising three kids — must be some kind of entrepreneurial genius.
How did she do it — even after facing the loss of her husband, Tom, in 2007?
Well, part of it was that she fought. She battled dated liquor laws — against a wine-ban in residential neighborhood restaurants in the mid-1990s, and again recently to overturn a dated 70/30 food/liquor revenue law.
In response, the Minnesota Restaurant Association gave Broder its 2015 Legislative Advocate of the Year Award.
She also received a Charlie Award for Lifetime Achievement at a 2015 ceremony honoring the best of the Twin Cities food scene.
Of course, Broder didn’t do it on her own.
Broder’s three sons have helped her keep the family’s dynasty alive, staying on top of dining trends in an ever-changing, food-obsessed world. (Check out some of the glowing online reviews for Terzo, featuring a cutting-edge wine-preservation system that allows for 40 kinds of wine by the glass.)
The Broders have been among the many restaurateurs who have made the Twin Cities dining scene one of the most vibrant in the country.
You can read all about it in this issue.
Whether you’re a foodie or an oenophile (or both, or neither), I hope you find Broder’s story interesting and inspiring!