Dr. Suess
18 | Thursday, April 24, 2025 Forest Lake Times
Lakeside eatery Shoreside opened by familiar face
Grillium owner returns Italian to former Vannelli’ s location
AMY DOEUN Contributing writer
Veronika and Russ Rafi of Vadnais Heights have been familiar to area diners since 2019 when Rafi started The Grillium. Since then, the Rafis have expanded their restaurant empire to a takeout pizza shop called Grillium Pizza, and for a short while added a second Grillium location in Scandia before that closed. When the former Vannelli’ s location on Lake Street opened up, he knew he wanted to try something there, and brought in business partners Rakesh and Minal Oza, to bring back Italian Food to Forest Lake.
Veronika said,“ My husband is the one who really likes the restaurant business and creator of recipes. He is a good cook and really has that talent. Always wanted to have restaurants.” Veronika also has an interior design company.
For Shoreside the Rafi’ s wanted to focus on“ more of the warm, hearty foods, Italian foods.” However, Veronika added that the menu may switch based on customer feedback, though
FILE PHOTO
Russ Rafi opened The Grillium in 2020, and added a to-go pizza shop in Forest Lake in 2023.
Area restaurateur Russ Rafi is bringing back Italian to Shoreside Bar & Grill.
they will still focus on Italian food. They also don’ t see the restaurant as being an upscale place.
“ We like to listen to our guests and see what they would like to see on the menu,” Veronika said, noting that“ We want them to all be satisfying and want the price point to be accessible.”
Being lakeside does also inspire some of the food, with some seafood Italian recipes.“ I tend to go to more of the lighter foods such as any kind of fish,” Veronika said, adding another one of her favorites is the Italian Street Pasta.
“ It is really amazing: creamy sauce, sausage, shrimp and vegetables – a little bit of everything,” she said.
With space to rent out, the business partners hope to make the restaurant an event space with catering options.“ Hopefully in the next 5 years we will have events every weekend,” she said.
With a younger crowd expected for summer with dancing and social space, Veronika said they are planning space for socializing.
“ The basement has a full bar as well, so we want to reopen that for the younger crowd to be able to … enjoy a drink and dancing and be more social,” she said.
Still, with all the space in the restaurant, she noted that it is available to all ages.
“ We are a family friendly restaurant. There are games for kids to play. Parents can enjoy drinks and food while the kids play games. … We don’ t want to be a commercial reboot. We are really family oriented and treat our employees as family members. We want everyone to feel invited and welcome,” Veronika said.
Shoreside Bar and Grill, located at 55 Lake Street South, is open from 3 to 9 p. m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 11 p. m. on Fridays, 11 a. m. to 11 p. m. on Saturdays, and 11 a. m. to 10 p. m. on Sundays. More information can be found at facebook. com / ShoresideBarandGrill.
PHOTO BY HANNAH DAVIS
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