My ex-husband and I were together for over eight years. Like most relationships, our love was largely built and maintained around meals. We could go out for a fancy dinner one night and a dive-bar the next and feel comfortable and adventurous in both places; I loved that about my marriage.
When I discovered my ex-husband’s long-term affair, memories of the meals, appetizers and glasses of wine that we shared became tainted by his betrayal. Driving past a restaurant that we went to together I would be reminded that my relationship was broken. Out of fear of the memories, my own emotions, and the man who broke my heart, I felt as if I could never go back to those places again.
Then, I discovered Reclaiming. Read my blog, 6 Signs You Might Need to Reclaim Something.
My definition of Reclaiming is “Identifying a fearful, internal reaction to a place or thing that holds a memory, and choosing to face it head-on and create a new, positive association.” You can see my Reclaiming Flowchart here. When I made the decision to go on a Reclaiming journey, I began with restaurants. One-by-one, I would return to these places with friends or family so I could make new memories. It was a long (and slightly expensive) process, but vitally important for my own practical healing.
The following list are all the restaurants and bars in the Twin Cities that I have Reclaimed up to this point. I am still in the process of Reclaiming although I know I’ve come so far!
The Reclaimed restaurants on this list hold no power over me anymore. I’ve faced the pain and the memories with intention and courage. I am a very different person than I was when I was married. I used to love these places because they helped me build my marriage. Now, these restaurants are reminders of the time I faced my fears with boldness and strength by going back to Reclaim them. Read my article, Reclaiming: Position Myself For Healing.
Whether it’s the person who hurt you, or a location that reminds you of something you’ve lost, you do not have to live in fear of anything. I hope my list of Reclaimed restaurants encourages you to Reclaim something for yourself.
- 5-8 Tavern & Grill
- 612 Brew
- Aster Cafe
- Bad Weather Brewing
- Barbette
- Barley John’s Brewing
- Barrio
- Bauhaus Brew
- The Black Forest Inn
- Black Sheep Coal Fired Pizza
- Buffalo Wild Wings
- Cafe Latte
- Chino Latino
- Chipotle
- Cook
- Cossetta
- CRAVE American Kitchen & Sushi
- Dock Cafe
- Downtowner Woodfire Grill
- The Flameburger
- Forepaugh’s Restaurant
- Great Waters Brewing Company
- Green Mill – Woodbury
- The Happy Gnome
- Icehouse
- Jake’s Grill
- Joe Senser’s
- Keller Grille
- Kieran’s Irish Pub
- Little Oven
- Louis Ristorante & Bar
- Mad Capper Saloon & Eatery
- Mancini’s
- Meritage
- Mercy
- Mickey’s Diner
- Namaste Cafe
- Neumann’s Bar
- Pazzeluna
- Perkin’s Restaurant
- Pizza Luce
- Prohibition
- Republic
- Saji-Ya
- Shar’els Cafe
- Spoon & Stable
- The St. Paul Grill
- Stella’s Fish Cafe
- Tamarack Tap Room
- Taste of Scandinavia
- TGI Friday’s
- Tin Whiskers Brewing
- Town Hall Brewery
- Vieux Carre
- Vietnam Star
- WA Frost
- Ward 6
- Yarusso Bros
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