Lumi restaurant is open and lighting up a once dark space in downtown Rochester

ROCHESTER — A new restaurant — Lumi — is now open and cooking in the heart of downtown Rochester.

Lumi, a Minneapolis restaurant with an international flair, opened a Rochester location in the former Well Dooley's Pub space at 255 First Ave. SW in the city-owned Minnesota Biobusiness Center. Lumi is leasing the 7,772-square-foot space from Powers Ventures.

Powers, which operated The Well restaurant there for 11 months, purchased the space from the City of Rochester for $1.4 million in 2021. Prior to The Well, Dooley's Pub occupied the space from 2010 to 2021.

Lumi owner Seckin Gungordu signed a lease in August. After some remodeling and refreshing of the space, Gungordu opened the Rochester restaurant this week. Lumi has a team of 15 to 20 in Rochester and is still hiring staff.

Rochester Realtor Jay ChristensonLoam Commercial Real Estate represented both Powers Ventures and Lumi in the deal.

Gungordu believes Lumi's menu with a focus on international dishes infused with Mediterranean flavors is a good fit for Rochester.

"Several customers at Lumi (Minneapolis' Nicollet Mall) asked us to open in Rochester," said Gungordu previously. "We checked the market and we saw that there was space for our concept. That's why we decided to come to Rochester."

Lumi, which uses the motto of "Food For Everyone," describes its menu as bringing more than 10 different cuisines to the table. That includes flavors from Turkey, Italy, Greece, India, Egypt, Lebanon and France.

The menu offerings range from kebabs, baba ganoush and hummus to pasta dishes, burgers and pizzas. Many dishes are vegetarian and Halal options are available.

"While we adhere to the original recipes for some dishes, we also offer unique interpretations of others," according to Lumi's website.