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.

  1. 5-8 Tavern & Grill
  2. 612 Brew
  3. Aster Cafe
  4. Bad Weather Brewing
  5. Barbette
  6. Barley John’s Brewing
  7. Barrio
  8. Bauhaus Brew
  9. The Black Forest Inn
  10. Black Sheep Coal Fired Pizza
  11. Buffalo Wild Wings
  12. Cafe Latte
  13. Chino Latino
  14. Chipotle
  15. Cook
  16. Cossetta
  17. CRAVE American Kitchen & Sushi
  18. Dock Cafe
  19. Downtowner Woodfire Grill
  20. The Flameburger
  21. Forepaugh’s Restaurant
  22. Great Waters Brewing Company
  23. Green Mill – Woodbury
  24. The Happy Gnome
  25. Icehouse
  26. Jake’s Grill
  27. Joe Senser’s
  28. Keller Grille
  29. Kieran’s Irish Pub
  30. Little Oven
  31. Louis Ristorante & Bar
  32. Mad Capper Saloon & Eatery
  33. Mancini’s
  34. Meritage
  35. Mercy
  36. Mickey’s Diner
  37. Namaste Cafe
  38. Neumann’s Bar
  39. Pazzeluna
  40. Perkin’s Restaurant
  41. Pizza Luce
  42. Prohibition
  43. Republic
  44. Saji-Ya
  45. Shar’els Cafe
  46. Spoon & Stable
  47. The St. Paul Grill
  48. Stella’s Fish Cafe
  49. Tamarack Tap Room
  50. Taste of Scandinavia
  51. TGI Friday’s
  52. Tin Whiskers Brewing
  53. Town Hall Brewery
  54. Vieux Carre
  55. Vietnam Star
  56. WA Frost
  57. Ward 6
  58. Yarusso Bros

Ellie

A Reclaimed child of God.

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

%d