Chris Dmochowski, the executive chef at coastal American eatery CōV Wayzata for the past eight years, is leaving the Lake Minnetonka restaurant to lead a new culinary venture in Shakopee. Boardwalk Kitchen & Bar, the upcoming trackside restaurant at Canterbury Park, announced the hiring Monday. As executive chef, Dmochowski (who has spent over 25 years working at local restaurants such as D’Amico, Trygs and Grand Café) will oversee Boardwalk’s menu development as a scratch kitchen. He will also collaborate with co-owner Thomas Pivec, who is the executive chef and operating partner at Lake Minnetonka’s upscale steakhouse Lord Fletcher’s. Continue

The Lake Minnetonka Historical Society will present “Welcome to the 20th Century: Wayzata and the North Shore” with historian Joanie Holst at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13 at the Wayzata Community Room, Wayzata City Hall, 600 Rice St. E., Wayzata. Free registration is requested as capacity is limited. Doors open at 6:30 pm and seating is first come, first served. A $5 suggested contribution is appreciated.

It was once Minnesota’s Coney Island. A century ago this May, a wooden roller coaster began rumbling high above Lake Minnetonka as Excelsior Amusement Park was born. From that opening 1925 season to its final days in 1973, the lakefront park came to define summertime fun for generations of Twin Cities kids. In later years, thousands turned up with report cards in hand to participate in an unforgettable schoolkid promotion: “Free Rides for Good Students.” Reader Dave Campbell, who grew up in Bloomington, fondly remembers childhood trips to the park. “It was always wonderful, especially when I was tall enough to ride the wooden roller coaster,” he said.

The nominees for the awards will be announced on April 2 with the James Beard Restaurants and Chef Awards ceremony happening on June 16 in Chicago.