Chaska EDA approves Copperfield restaurant lease, budgeted improvements and authorizes bond-reimbursement flexibility

The City of Chaska Economic Development Authority on March 30 voted to approve a lease with Copperfield Chaska LLC (a Hightop Hospitality concept) for the restaurant and banquet facility at the Chaska Curling & Event Center and adopted a resolution to preserve the authority’s ability to reimburse those improvement expenditures from future bond proceeds.

The lease: EDA staff described a proposed 10-year lease with two five-year renewal options and a percent-rent structure modeled on the facility’s prior arrangement. Staff said the lease would start with a 7% rent share on the first $4,000,000 of annual revenue and escalate thereafter; the lease also includes an additional 2.8% of net sales to cover utilities and common-area costs. Staff said the restaurant would be branded Copperfield, operate expanded hours (breakfast through late evening on many days), and provide banquet and catering services for events in the facility.

Improvements and timeline: staff estimated about $750,000 to $800,000 in combined curling-stadium seating and other improvements, split between EDA-provided seating work and tenant improvements in the restaurant. If the EDA approved the lease, the plan is to close the existing restaurant after Easter brunch, begin construction on April 6 and re-open the Copperfield location around June 15 in time for a June community event. Staff told commissioners the kitchen arrangement largely remains in place (with the addition of a griddle for breakfast) and that the EDA would retain some responsibility for seating improvements.

Catering and operations: staff said Copperfield will provide a vetted list of external caterers to serve ethnic cuisine needs that the operator may not offer directly; the operator would retain exclusive rights for on-site food service but may allow vetted external caterers for specialized events for an administrative fee. Banquet revenue-split terms were described as 12% for food and 15% for beverage.

Financing flexibility: commissioners also approved Resolution 2026-25, a bond-reimbursement resolution that preserves the EDA’s ability to reimburse earlier improvement expenditures from later bond proceeds if the authority chooses that financing route. Staff explained the resolution does not obligate the EDA to issue bonds; it only preserves the option and compliance with IRS rules should the EDA later use bond proceeds to reimburse pre-issuance expenditures.

Vote and next steps: the EDA voted to approve the lease and adopted the reimbursement resolution. Staff said it will implement a communications plan (press release, social posts, website update and direct notices to curling members and booked event groups) contingent on EDA approval and will coordinate event scheduling during the short closure for construction.