Latest news with #BluePlateRestaurantCompany
Miami Herald
08-04-2025
- Miami Herald
Beloved restaurateur dies in crash, leaving ‘gaping hole,' MN reports say
Minnesota's hospitality industry is mourning the loss of one of its own who died in a motorcycle crash, news outlets reported. David Burley, co-founder of Blue Plate Restaurant Company, owned and operated several acclaimed Minnesota restaurants over the last 32 years. He was known for his annual booth at the Minnesota State Fair and holding 'Bald and Free' days at his restaurants, where customers with heads as bald as his own could dine for free. Burley was riding his vintage motorcycle in Wisconsin on Sunday, April 6, when, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, a driver took the right shoulder of the interstate, hit a guardrail, weaved back into traffic and struck Burley, sending both vehicles into a concrete barrier, KARE reported. According to KARE, Burley died at a local hospital. The outlet reported all seven restaurants under the Blue Plate name will be closed on April 7. Mpls St. Paul Magazine described Burley as a tall Australian with a 'booming' presence, but otherwise, he was content working behind the scenes in the bustle of his seven restaurants. 'It leaves a gaping hole, for the Blue Plate family, and the hospitality community,' the magazine wrote. 'Unless you're an industry insider, you may not recognize him or even know his name. 'Burley was fine with that.' Burley's career started in 1993, when he and his partner and then-wife Stephanie Shimp opened The Highland Grill in St. Paul., according to the Minnesota Star Tribune. 'Losing him so suddenly is overwhelming — a painful shock that has left me and our entire Blue Plate family grieving a loss too deep for words,' she said in a social media post. 'David's passion and kindness were the foundation of everything we built together. We will profoundly miss his spirit, energy and irreplaceable presence.' The other driver was identified as Andre Lamont Mathews, 33. Police said charges against him include homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, according to the Star Tribune.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Yahoo
Restaurant group co-owner killed in motorcycle crash near Minnesota–Wisconsin border
HUDSON, Wis. (WFRV) – A co-owner of a popular Twin Cities-area restaurant group died Sunday afternoon after being hit by an alleged drunken driver while riding his motorcycle near the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. David Burley, co-founder of the Blue Plate Restaurant Company, was identified by The Freehouse – one of the company's restaurants – in a social media post announcing his death. The company closed all of its restaurant locations on Monday to give staff time to grieve, saying 'this loss is overwhelming for all of us.' One dead after trailer fire in northern Wisconsin; investigation ongoing According to CBS Minnesota and the Wisconsin State Patrol, the crash occurred around 2:45 p.m. on Interstate 94 near Hudson. A vehicle traveling in the right lane attempted to pass traffic on the shoulder, struck a guardrail, and then veered back into the lane, colliding with Burley's motorcycle. Both vehicles crashed into the concrete median barrier. Burley and the 33-year-old driver from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, were taken to a nearby hospital. Burley died from his injuries, while the other driver is expected to survive. Fond du Lac man convicted of homicide for role in his sister's fentanyl overdose The Wisconsin State Patrol says the driver had been drinking alcohol prior to the crash and could face charges pending further investigation. He was reportedly not wearing a seatbelt. Blue Plate Restaurant Company operates several Twin Cities-area establishments, including The Freehouse, The Lowry, 3 Squares Restaurant, Longfellow Grill, Edina Grill, Groveland Tap, and Highland Grill. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Yahoo
Brooklyn Park driver charged in Wisconsin crash that killed restaurant owner David Burley
A man is suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and speeding on Interstate 94 in Hudson before he went onto the shoulder and then crashed into David Burley, co-founder of Blue Plate Restaurant Company, according to a criminal charge filed Monday. Burley, who was riding a motorcycle and wearing a full-face helmet, died at the hospital in St. Paul on Sunday. He was 58. The St. Croix County District Attorney's Office charged Andre Lamont Mathews, 33, of Brooklyn Park, with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle. 'Preliminary investigation indicates the car was in the right lane and attempted to overtake traffic by using the right shoulder when it struck a guardrail causing it to veer back into the right lane where it collided with a motorcycle,' the Wisconsin State Patrol said in a statement Sunday. Both Mathews' car and Burley's motorcycle 'traveled across the roadway' and struck the median concrete barrier, the statement continued. A Hudson police officer told a Wisconsin trooper he could 'smell an odor of an intoxicant emitting from' Mathews, and a trooper at Regions Hospital reported the same thing, according to the criminal complaint. Lakeview Emergency Medical Services took Mathews to Regions Hospital. Burley had also been brought to Regions, where he died. A trooper saw that his helmet had damage to the front and right rear. 'This breaks my heart so much,' Brian Ingram, Twin Cities chef and restaurant owner posted on social media Monday. 'Such a good man taken by someone making bad decisions.' Two people reported seeing Mathews' vehicle, a 2011 Infiniti G25, 'operating at a high rate of speed and weaving in and out of traffic for several miles prior to the crash,' the complaint said. The crash happened at 2:48 p.m. Sunday on westbound I-94 at milepost 1, according to the Wisconsin State Patrol. A trooper met with Mathews in a trauma room at the hospital. He 'appeared to be disoriented and lethargic,' was not answering questions 'appropriately and stated he did not know where he was or if he was driving,' the complaint said. Mathews would not submit to an evidentiary test of his blood, and law enforcement applied for and received a search warrant to draw his blood for testing. It could take four to six weeks for a toxicology report to come back, according to the State Patrol. The St. Croix County District Attorney's Office is seeking a longer sentence for Mathews, if he's convicted, due to a past offense. He was sentenced for possession of cocaine in Hennepin County in 2018. Mathews remained hospitalized as of Monday afternoon; he was listed in fair condition. An arrest warrant was issued for Mathews along with the complaint. An attorney for him wasn't listed in the court file. When a Minneapolis officer pulled over Mathews in November 2017, he saw what appeared to be a bottle of Brandy or a similar liquor bottle on the front passenger seat floorboard. Idaho mom who killed 2 of her kids goes on trial over death of her husband Here's how to prevent, fight back against sextortion Increasingly dangerous scam targets kids through sextortion Little Canada man pleads guilty to strangling sex worker in Eagan hotel room St. Paul resident federally indicted in MS-13 gang-related murder in Florida Police found a handgun under a rear seat of Mathews' vehicle, which had been reported stolen, according to the criminal complaint in that case. He was prohibited from possessing firearms because he had an armed robbery conviction from July 2009 in Kankakee County, Illinois. An officer bringing Mathews to jail in 2017 heard him grinding his shoes against the floor of the squad, and found Mathews had a white powdery substance all over his hands and clothes; it was also on the floor of the squad and seat where Mathews was sitting. There were several pieces of suspected crack cocaine, which later tested positive for cocaine, the complaint said.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Twin Cities restaurateur David Burley dies in motorcycle accident
After working together as servers at the Nicollet Island Inn during the 1990s, David Burley and Stephanie Shimp opened the Highland Grill on Cleveland Avenue, followed by a series of additional restaurants under the title, Blue Plate Restaurant Company, including the Groveland Tap and Longfellow Grill. On Sunday afternoon, Burley died from a motorcycle crash on Interstate 94 in Wisconsin's St. Croix County, according to a company statement shared on social media. All Blue Plate Restaurants will be closed on Monday in remembrance. Stephanie Shimp, co-owner of the Blue Plate Restaurant Company and Burley's ex-wife, released a written statement Sunday evening. 'My heart is absolutely broken by the devastating news of David's passing,' Shimp wrote. 'Losing him so suddenly is overwhelming – a painful shock that has left me and our entire Blue Plate family grieving a loss too deep for words. David's passion and kindness were the foundation of everything we built together. We will profoundly miss his spirit, energy and irreplaceable presence.' As co-founders of the Blue Plate Restaurant Company, the couple launched the Edina Grill, 3 Squares, The Lowry, The Blue Barn at the Minnesota State Fair and The Freehouse. Family-owned restaurant and recreation complex pitches Apple Valley location Myriel's Karyn Tomlinson and several Minneapolis restaurants nominated for James Beard Awards Taste of Minnesota returning to Minneapolis, announces lineup St. Paul: Grand Ave. Anthropologie/Salut site undergoing renovation for new retail, restaurants With March Madness underway, it's game time for newly opened women's-sports bars across the US
