Apostle Supper Club
Cuisine with 360° Duluth Views
The best view of Duluth's harbor and hillside has made the Radisson's restaurant a Duluth destination for over 50 years. Photo by Corbyn Jenkins
At the Apostle Supper Club, perched at the very top of Duluth’s Radisson hotel, it’s tough to say which is the bigger star of the show: the food or the views.
Featuring menu items like cheese fondue, chicken fried lobster, fillet mignon, beer steamed mussels and good old-fashioned fish fry, the Apostle describes its menu as “A place where classic dishes are deconstructed and reimagined with a sense of comfort and adventure.”
And, the views are simply extraordinary. The entire restaurant rotates 360 degrees, providing stunning views of Duluth’s harbor and hillside.
The Apostle is intended to look like a late 1960’s era, Palm Springs supper club. “It’s a mid-century modern restaurant, based off a Palm Springs supper club. The Radisson was built in the 1970, and we wanted to embrace that architecture,” co-owner Brian Ingram explained. The restaurant is painted in bright, vibrant colors – mangoes and blues – and every piece of furniture was custom-made for the space.
The restaurant decor is similar to when the Radisson opened in 1970. Photo by Corbyn Jenkins
“The restaurant sits on a giant, rotating floor,” explained Brian. “It’s kind of like a mechanical lazy Susan. We can speed it up or slow it down, but one full rotation takes about an hour.”
Ingram co-owns the Apostle – which opened in January 2022 - with his wife, Sarah Ingram. There are actually a total of eight establishments, mostly in the Twin Cities metro area, all under the umbrella of “Purpose Restaurants.” (More on this entity later).
While Brian is the owner of Purpose Restaurants, Sarah is the founder/president of another of the couple’s initiatives, Give Hope MN, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Purpose Restaurants donates 3% of total sales to Give Hope MN to help address food insecurity.
For the Ingrams, giving back to the communities they serve is a big part of what they do.
Menu
Duluth’s Apostle Supper Club serves breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner.
False Eyedoll Tiki Lounge is on the first floor and is open from 4-10 pm most days, offering dinner and late-night snacks.
The Apostle’s cuisine is on the finer side, featuring items like steaks, seafood, and lamb. “We like to do a modern take on traditional supper club food,” Brian shared.
The Apostle Supper Club offers fine dining in a stunning Duluth setting. Photo by Corbyn Jenkins.
“A lot of supper clubs would have lobster; we just do lobster in a fun way. We serve chicken fried lobster that is hand-breaded lobster tail with tempura batter, served with melted chive butter and Hollandaise sauce. It’s food people are familiar with; just served in a unique way.”
False Eyedoll, Brian shared, offers “More approachable food – burgers, chicken wings, things like that.” Both establishments offer a variety of beer, wine, and unique cocktails to suit every palate.
Owners
Sarah Ingram is a lifelong Minnesotan who grew up in Dayton. Brian grew up in Alaska. Both husband and wife enjoy shared passions for the culinary arts, along with helping the less fortunate.
Brian and Sarah Ingram, owners of the Apostle Supper Club. Photo by Corbyn Jenkins
Brian got his start at his aunt and uncle’s establishment, Flip’s Flyin’ Coffee Shop, located in Homer, Alaska. “I grew up cooking for family and friends and it became my passion,” he explained. He earned a culinary certification from the Anchorage Career Center while still in high school.
From there, Brian moved to San Francisco, where he worked for Skates on the Bay – a restaurant known for its fresh seafood. He later worked as a chef for many well-known companies, including MGM Resorts, Brinker International (owner of Chili’s, Maggiano’s Little Italy, and others), and helped open restaurants in places like Paris and Singapore.
Sarah attended culinary school for a time, and also earned a cosmetology degree. In addition to her work with Purpose Restaurants and Give Hope MN, she also does hair and makeup for weddings and other special events. She is passionate about helping others; and in particular, men and women who are victims of sex trafficking.
The couple met in 2012 when they were both working at New Bohemia – a craft beer and sausage bar - in northeast Minneapolis. The Ingrams currently live in St. Paul.
Purpose Restaurants
In 2019, Brian Ingram started Purpose Restaurants. On their website, the Ingrams share, “Because we believe everything good starts with a meal, we founded Purpose Restaurants, and our non-profit organization, Give Hope MN. The mission of Give Hope MN is to bring the community together to provide support and serve those in need.” As noted, Give Hope MN donates 3% of total sales to address food insecurity.
Today, just three short years later, Purpose Restaurants includes eight establishments:
- Hope Breakfast Bar - in St. Paul and St. Louis Park
- The Gnome Craft Pub in St. Paul
- Hope Express at Gillette Children’s Hospital
- Apostle Supper Club - in St. Paul and Duluth
- False Eyedoll Tiki Lounge - in Duluth (on the first floor of the Radisson) and St. Paul.
A few other Purpose establishments are being planned right now, with more details to be announced soon.
Personal Interests
As noted, the Ingrams currently live in St. Paul. But one of their goals is to purchase a home in Duluth. “We keep talking about moving to Duluth,” Brian said. “We both love skiing and we have a boat.”
The couple are also adventurous “foodie travelers.” Their adventures have included many international locales. And Brian visits Turkey about every 90 days, where he volunteers at the Gospel Culture Café. Together, the Ingrams have a blended family, which includes son Ethan (20), daughter Maya (19), son Banks (2), and two cats, Frenchie and Rizzo.
The Ingrams are both passionate about giving back. Sarah remains deeply committed to helping victims of sex trafficking. And Brian serves on the Board of Directors for the Children’s Hospital Association.
Together, the couple, through Give Hope MN, fed people through the COVID-19 pandemic at their Hope Breakfast Bar. They also set up a small grocery store and community kitchen in the Twin Cities to help address food insecurity.
Goals
Looking ahead, the Ingrams are excited to plant deeper roots in Duluth. “We want to get embedded in the community, and would like to find our niche, having students learning the culinary craft from us,” Brian said. “We also want to work with teens battling homelessness.
“Another thing we want to look into is how we can get more intentional with buying local ingredients and learning more about local farmer’s markets,” he added.
The couple loves Duluth; for Brian, it reminds him of home. “Seeing all the people converge on Duluth and the waterway reminds me of Homer, Alaska,” Brian said. Our favorite parts of Duluth are just walking downtown and people-watching.”
