The newest tenant in the Shops at West End is a huge entertainment venue that includes a restaurant, bar, bowling alley, comedy club, arcade, patio and perhaps a cigar room.

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Latitude 360 signed a lease last week for 43,000 square feet on the south of the St. Louis Park retail center. (The busy cluster of restaurants, including Crave and Cooper, are at the north end.)

Latitude 360 launched in 2007 and has three other locations in the United States. CEO and Founder Brent Brown says the concept attracts all age groups; “You can walk into the facility during the day and see three generations,” he said. But it becomes a 21-plus venue after 10 p.m.

The venue will host live music Thursday through Saturday and live comedy Fridays and Saturdays. The venue will host corporate events during the week, Brown said, noting the large employers in the west metro.

The restaurant side of the concept is getting a makeover by a board member of the company, Outback Steakhouse Co-Founder and chef Tim Gannon.

Other locations include an eat-in movie theater, but this one won’t. It’s on the slightly smaller end of the Latitude 360 concept, plus the Showplace Icon Theatre at the West End already offers movie-dining combos.
Latitude 360 also has locations in Jacksonville, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, with another under construction in Albany, N.Y., and several more locations in the works.

Brown plans to discuss the legality of a cigar room with the city of St. Louis Park. In other locations, the company has opted for a covered cigar patio.

The bowling alley will have 18 lanes and leather couches for a luxury feel.

If plans go accordingly, Latitude 360 will open in early 2015, Brown said.

Latitude 360 is merging with a public company in a deal that should be complete in a few days, Brown said.

Read Original Story Here