Victoria's 'little sister' is on the way, after $1.75 million Med City real estate deal

Jeff Kiger, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read

Nov. 21—A $1.75 million sale of an ex-bank branch building in southwest Rochester clears the way for the next generation of a popular Med City restaurant family to create its own 2.0 version of a local favorite.

Sorellina Enterprises LLC purchased the former Associated Bank/First Federal building at 1155 16th St. SW from the owners of the Apache Mall. The 41-year-old property stands near the mall's south entrance, along 16th Street.

This deal is the next step in the Victoria family plan to turn the former bank into a smaller, bistro-version of the well-known Victoria's Ristorante & Wine Bar in the heart of downtown Rochester.

Cousins Jordan Victoria and Nadia Victoria are leading the project to create a younger sibling of the original restaurant. It will be called Sorellina's, which means "little sister" in Italian.

The Victoria family filed building plans for the project with the city back in July that show an intimate 4,100-square-foot eatery with a large patio.

In July, Natalie Victoria, who co-owns Victoria's and The Tap House in downtown as well as The Tap House West End in northwest Rochester, explained the vision.

"This is our chance for our family to kind of grow with Victoria's restaurant — expand our footprint a little bit," she said.

In the wake of the purchase, she wrote a Facebook post that compared the Sorellina's project with the launch of the original Victoria's.

"Twenty five years ago, my husband and I convinced my father... a middle school science teacher...to leave his career...deplete his bank accounts... and follow our dream to open a restaurant... with my husband's sister and brother in law. He believed in us so much he did it. I still look back in amazement," she wrote in the posting with a photo of her along with Jordan Victoria and Nadia Victoria.

She concluded by writing, "Twenty five years later...and history repeats itself. Downtown Rochester won't be the only place to get your pasta fix. Look out SW Rochester. Because the only thing better than the first generation...is the second."

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