Hastings has come out in full support, and then some. It has been incredible.”

Mik German

328 Grill
350 33rd St. W.
Hastings, MN 55033
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Just a few weeks after closing its kitchen operations at the St. Paul Park American Legion Post 98, 328 Grill officially opened the doors to its new standalone restaurant in Hastings, marking the occasion with a ribbon cutting ceremony on May 14.
For owner Mik German, the move represents both a long-awaited next step and the continuation of an idea that has been building for years.
“328 has been around for a little over five years,” German said during an interview at the new restaurant. “The idea of 328 has kind of been around for probably 15.”
German said the roots of the business go back to 2009 and 2010, when he leased the kitchen at the 1029 Bar in Minneapolis.
“That was kind of the beginning of getting to where we are now,” he said.
The transition to Hastings came after the business learned its lease arrangement in St. Paul Park would soon be ending. Rather than wait for uncertainty, German and his team began quietly exploring other options.
“We knew that our lease was coming to an end, and it didn’t feel like the two sides were going to come together on an agreement,” he said. “We had already been looking, not aggressively, but looking to see if there was something out there, because we felt like it was getting to be time to take the next step.”
The timing, he said, worked out better than expected.
“Honestly, the timing for this place and what we were looking for just kind of came together perfectly for us.”
German said the restaurant officially took over the lease on March 26, leaving only about six to seven weeks to prepare the location before opening.
That short timeline involved much more than cosmetic updates.
“It took us six, seven weeks of getting stuff done and all the paperwork and forms and stuff you have to get to be able to do all the things that it takes to open the restaurant, to serve alcohol,” he said.
Previously, 328 Grill operated largely as a kitchen inside another establishment. Moving into its own full-service restaurant meant building an entirely different operation from the ground up.
“One of the things that worried me the most was staffing,” German said. “We need a lot of staff.”
Drawing from years of restaurant experience, he said opening a new restaurant requires over-hiring in the beginning to ensure employees have time to learn the menu, the building and the pace of operations without becoming overwhelmed.
“You always overstaff when you open,” he said. “You give them what they can handle. You give them the chance to learn the building, learn the menu, learn everything.”
So far, the response from employees has exceeded expectations.
“Awesome, excellent,” German said of the staff.
The customer response has also been strong, especially during the restaurant’s first week in Hastings.
“Hastings has come out in full support, and then some,” he said. “It has been incredible.”
According to German, some customers returned multiple times within the restaurant’s first seven days.
“There’s a handful of people that I know I’ve seen three or four times already,” he said.
Known for creative burgers and rotating menu items, 328 Grill has built a loyal following over the years. German believes the restaurant’s uniqueness comes less from trying to stand apart and more from his own unconventional approach to food.
“My brain is a weird place when it comes to food,” he said with a laugh. “It doesn’t make me better or worse than anybody. It’s just the way that I do things.”
German said he enjoys experimenting with flavors and encourages his staff to embrace their own creativity as well.
That willingness to experiment has occasionally produced some misses.
“My first shot at ice cream, I wanted to go weird with it,” he recalled. “I tried making avocado bacon ice cream.”
The result, he admitted, was memorable for the wrong reasons.
“It was just as bad as it sounds.”
Not every unusual idea has failed, however. One concept German initially worried customers might reject has become one of the restaurant’s biggest successes.
The rotating Burger of the Week program has developed a following of its own.
“I was worried that a Burger of the Week wouldn’t work,” he said. “I thought we’d have to do more like a Burger of the Month.”
Instead, the feature has become a consistent bestseller.
“We have currently done 173 different burger weeks in five years,” German said.
While many of the specialty burgers push creative boundaries, German said the restaurant also focuses heavily on fundamentals. Even a plain hamburger is designed to stand out through the quality of the beef blend and seasoning.
“We use a really fatty beef,” he explained. “It’s short rib, brisket and chuck.”
The burgers are also seasoned with products from German’s own spice company, 14 Spice.
“I think that also adds another layer of flavor for something that could be basic,” he said.
Inside the new Hastings location, much of the renovation work centered on changing the atmosphere rather than rebuilding the structure itself.
“Pretty much everything we’ve done has been cosmetic,” German said. “We had to paint and clean and put artwork up that reflected how we wanted it to feel.”
One feature already drawing attention is the restaurant’s spacious patio, which German expects to become a major attraction during Minnesota’s warmer months.
“I think everybody in Minnesota wants to be on a patio,” he said. “This thing is just going to run itself.”
He described the patio as private and relaxing, with enough separation from nearby traffic and activity to create its own atmosphere.
“You don’t necessarily feel like you’re at a restaurant,” he said. “It’s got its own kind of vibe to it.”
The restaurant is also beginning to introduce entertainment and community events, though German said the approach will be gradual.
Right now, the restaurant hosts live music on Sundays from noon to 3 p.m., featuring one or two performers on the patio, weather permitting.
Additional events such as bingo, trivia and meat raffles are expected in the future.
“Our kind of idea with everything is we’re going to start small and just expand from there,” German said.
That philosophy also extends to the menu. The restaurant recently added its first Friday fish fry.
“We’re just going to add layers of things,” he said, “as we feel like we get to a place where we can add another layer or something.”
Beyond the food itself, German emphasized that becoming part of the Hastings community remains one of the restaurant’s biggest priorities.
“Much like we were in St. Paul Park and Cottage Grove, we want to be part of the community here,” he said. “We hope to be here for a long time, and we want to be part of Hastings.”
The ribbon cutting celebration marked more than the opening of a restaurant. For German and his staff, it represented years of gradual growth, experimentation and persistence finally coming together in a permanent home of their own.
And if the first week is any indication, Hastings residents appear more than ready to pull up a chair.