Jamie Malone
Chef & Owner

Jamie Malone has always had a life that revolved around food. She grew up cooking and baking breads with her dad in St. Paul, Minnesota. Before receiving her culinary degree from Le Cordon Bleu, Chef Malone traveled and studied extensively in Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, and Europe, immersing herself in each region’s cuisine.

Malone started working in restaurants at age 16, but began her cooking career in hospitality in 2006 working for Chef Tim McKee at the highly lauded restaurant La Belle Vie, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She moved on to be a part of the opening team of several Minneapolis restaurants early in her career, including Georges Chambers Kitchen, Porter and Frye, and Sea Change.

In 2011 she took the position of Chef at Sea Change. There, Malone gained national attention and earned a place as a semifinalist for the James Beard Award Foundation’s “Rising Star Chef” for 2013 and “Best Chef Midwest” for 2014. In 2013, Malone was named one of Food and Wine magazine’s “Best New Chefs”.

In 2019 she became a James Beard finalist for Best Chef Midwest.

Jamie has written for Esquire’s “Eat Like a Man” blog and been featured in many magazines including GQ, Saveur, and Elle. In 2014 she won Cooking Light magazine’s “Trail Blazer Award” for her work with sustainable seafood. Malone has also served as a Chef Ambassador for the Norwegian Seafood Council since 2015.

Nikki Klocker
Director of Operations

While Jamie is the total package in the kitchen of both Eastside and Grand, Nikki is the ribbon—she ties everything together beautifully with a bow. Growing up in St Cloud, Nikki always has been interested in psychology, art and hospitality, all of which serve her well in taking care of guests and staff alike. She has extensive experience in management and creating strong business client relationships.

Nikki’s artistic spirit, blended with laser-like attention to detail, is what drives the stylish and memorable experience for guests at both restaurants. It’s truly magical.

Cool Fact: Armed with a can of paint, a truckload of glitter and some grit, Nikki created the oversized canvas hanging in the entry of Eastside that has become a backdrop of many a selfie.

Bridget Sorensen
Event Coordinator

A flair for hospitality is best learned at home — from a dad who loved to cook and a family who enjoyed each other’s company around the dinner table. Twelve years running a two-store, family retail business honed her business and organizational skill set.

In her role as event coordinator, Bridget brings this innate ability to pair amazing food and wine with flawless service to both the Grand Café and Eastside. And she can do it on a grand scale for private parties, business events and special dining occasions. The key, she says, is her love of people and a healthy appetite for seeing that every minute detail is taken care of with imagination and the romantic charm Grand is known for and the Big City sophisticated vibe of Eastside.

Cool Fact:Bridget was pursuing a degree in aviation with the goal of becoming a commercial airline pilot, before deciding having a family paired better with hospitality than long layovers in strange cities.

Scarlett Carrasco Polanco
Sommelier/Wine Director

Wine is a many splendid thing, according to Scarlett, who officially earned her sommelier certification in 2017, but has been an avid student of wine for her 11 years in the industry. Wine, she claims, can be as cerebral as a crossword puzzle or as all-encompassing as a beanbag chair, and she enjoys bringing each guest to that place on their pallet. Her wine journey began by sitting in on tastings with the wine buyer for Lucia’s Restaurant and Wine Bar, where she learned not only about wine’s lineage, but about sharing the wine experience with guests so they never feel intimidated or ill-advised. And what better atmosphere for an elevated wine experience than her new home at Grand Café and Eastside.

Cool Fact: Scarlett is known in certain circles as “The Cork Whisperer,” because she can coax any unreasonable cork out of its bottle.