The former site of Duane’s House of Pizza is being renovated as the Midtown Tavern, a restaurant and sports bar. (Photo/Russ Hanson.)

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

The former site of Duane’s Pizza on Highway 10 will house a new eating and drinking option early next year, when the Midtown Tavern opens there. Plans include a full-service family restaurant – serving original-recipe Duane’s pizza along with as well as an all-new menu including hamburgers, macaroni & cheese, cheesesteak, egg rolls and more – as well as a separate adjoining sports bar.

RKB Investments plans extensive renovations to the 1970s-era building at 2223 Highway 10, expanding from the area occupied by the venerable pizza restaurant into about 80% of the aging strip mall. The crop insurance office and beauty salon now there will be relocated.

The successful addition is the first fruit of a change in tax breaks to new and expanding businesses that was brought to the previous Moorhead City Council meeting by economic development consultant Derrick LaPoint. In mid-September, the council approved a change to the city’s New or Expanding Restaurant Incentives replacing 10-year-old policy that limited eligibility to operations located in the downtown TIF district. LaPoint proposed – and the council unanimously agreed – to remove that geographical limitation and open up the sales tax and employee credits to new or expanding restaurants anywhere in the city.

At Monday’s meeting, the council approved both a six-year property tax exemption totaling approximately $25,660 and another credit of no more than $25,000 for employee credits of $1,500 per person, sales tax credits, or a total of the two.

Remodeling of the former pizza place is expected to start in October, with an opening anticipated in January.