ST. JOSEPH — The aroma of fresh basil – earthy, a little peppery – sweetened the sunny Monday air.
Three rows of the delicious herb have room to grow on the patio in front of Bello Cucina restaurant in St. Joseph.
Owner and chef Jason Mueller carefully cleaned the basil, releasing its distinctive fragrance.
“We use a lot of basil in our restaurant. It’s fresh. When I cut it, I come in and you can smell it all over the restaurant,” Mueller said. “After that, heads turn. They stop what they’re doing and in the middle of a conversation, you see them perk up (and say), ‘It smells so good.'”
Just as his locally grown basil adds a special touch to his dishes, his restaurant Bello Cucina St. Joe has been adding a touch of Italy since 2012.
Trent Abrego / St. Cloud LIVE
“St. Joe has always been my best store, and that’s why I’m still here,” says Mueller, 53.
For Mueller, the St. Joseph location has brought his career full circle, he said.
His connection to St. Joseph’s dates back to his teenage years when he stayed there and attended the boarding school, St. John’s Prep School.
At that time, his father worked for Saudi Arabian Airlines, now Saudia. During the school holidays, the young Müller traveled around the country and abroad, including to Thailand, Egypt, Germany, the Netherlands and Japan, and experienced a world full of flavors.
But he was successful in Italian cuisine.
“As I went through my career, I seemed to be particularly good at Italian cuisine,” Mueller said. “Some of the restaurants I grew up in, that I went to, and that I worked at as a young man – Sidney’s Cafe down in Minneapolis – had a huge following.”
“A lot of people liked it. I learned a lot there about different types of pasta and stuff, and I could probably still make everything on the menu, so it left a lasting impression on me.”
His culinary career includes stints at California Cafe and Planet Hollywood at the Mall of America, the Decathlon Club and Doolittle’s restaurants in Alexandria. All of those stops have influenced different aspects of his menu at Bello Cucina, he said.
Traditional Italian dishes like pork shank braised in osso buco sit alongside Italian-American fusion dishes like blackened ribeye steak with goat cheese chuck.
Bello Cucina also serves a wide selection of pastas, flatbreads and pizzas made from fresh, local ingredients.
About Bello Cucina’s past, future
Trent Abrego / St. Cloud LIVE
The St. Joseph restaurant is the only Bello Cucina still in existence.
Mueller opened the restaurant in Morris, Minnesota in 2006 and expanded it five times with locations in Fergus Falls, St. Joseph, Spicer, Marshall and Alexandria.
In 2017, Mueller put the Fergus Falls, Morris and Alexandria restaurants up for sale. That same year, he said, he suffered a heart attack.
He closed the Spicer location around 2018. Bello Cucina closed its Marshall location in 2022 because rent and fees were too high, he said.
Mueller admits he has considered selling Bello Cucina’s last location in St. Joseph. At one point, it was on the market and there were 34 interested parties, but none of them met his criteria, he said.
“I want Bello Cucina to continue as a legacy to me when I opened it and founded it,” Mueller said. “They wanted more of a place to put their money. They didn’t want to come here and actually do the work.”
“This place needs some kind of owner and operator, someone to come in and take care of it and give it the attention it needs.”
He also emphasized that the future owner must build a relationship with the community and St. John’s University.
Mueller said the current lease for the building in the Mill Stream Shops strip expires at the end of 2026.
“I’m looking forward to retiring, but at the same time it would be nice if this could continue in the community,” Mueller said. “So if I find the right thing, I’ll probably try to keep it open as best I can.”
What: Beautiful kitchen
Where: 15 E. Minnesota St. St. Joseph
When: Open Tuesday to Thursday from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Sunday and Monday closed.
On-line:
bellocucina.com or
facebook.com/BelloCucinaStJoseph
