Downtown Fargo’s Icelandic-inspired eatery, So+Lo’s, set to open – InForum

FARGO — No fooling.

So+Lo’s, the family-run Icelandic-American breakfast-lunch spot, will open its doors at 629 1st Ave. N. on Wednesday, April Fool’s Day.

And when it does, customers will find items ranging from skyr — the  thick, creamy, yogurt-like product that’s nourished Icelanders for over 1,000 years — to grilled ham-and-cheese sandwiches, scratch-made soups and other “foods you can pronounce too,” says Jen Nelson, who is opening the restaurant with husband/chef Chris Nelson.

The light, bright space pays homage to Jen’s Icelandic heritage with a color scheme that incorporates lava-red (for Iceland’s volcanos), blue for the North Atlantic Ocean, yellow for its “midnight sun,” green for moss and purple for its omnipresent lupine. These vibrant hues are set against a clean, spare black-and-white backdrop.

Artist Jen’s ceramics are displayed throughout, including in the brightly colored ceramic tiles installed on the pony wall between the dining and prep areas.

“We’ve got the cash register stand up, we’ve got the deli case in. It’s beginning to look like a real restaurant,” she says.

So+Lo’s is such a family affair that the Nelsons’ kids, Arlo and Soley, who inspired the restaurant name, begged to stay home from school Wednesday for the eatery’s grand opening. 

“But we said, ‘No, school is more important. You can come Saturday,’” Jen says. “We’re all excited to just get the door open and make some food.”

That includes distinctive specialties like skyr (pronounced “skeer”) breakfast bowls with house-made granola and fruit or pannekucher, a thin, crepe-like pancake from the land of fire and ice. They also plan to serve rullupylsa (a rolled, spiced meat similar to porketta), although, due to its time-intensive nature, they’ll do so only once a week or so.

So far, people seem most excited about the skyr — both locally and internationally.

When The Forum’s story about the new restaurant reached the Nordic island country,

an Icelandic newspaper reporter reached out to the Nelsons to do a story on them. “I would tell you the name of the paper but I can’t pronounce it,” she says, with a laugh. “He was wondering why in the world were we bringing an Icelandic thing like skyr to North Dakota.”

While Jen was at the Unglued Craft Fest a few weeks ago, people told her they couldn’t wait to try the fermented, high-protein dairy product. Some have gone so far as to pick up the best-known example of skyr, Siggi’s, at the grocery store so they know what to expect.

Health officials also were new to it. Although skyr has been made for centuries in Iceland, the concept of a house-made fermented dairy product was relatively new locally.  “It’s been a lot of work with the health department, but I think we’re finally able to go with it,” Jen says.

The Nelsons also want people to know that there’s something for everyone. Other frequent menu items will include grilled sandwiches, open-faced egg-salad sandwiches, chicken and dumpling soup and a Mediterranean chicken soup that was a favorite back when Chris ran Cafe Muse at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo.

Prices will start at $5 for a cup of soup or half-sandwich and $8 for a skyr breakfast bowl.

“It was really important to us that our food is approachable and our price point is comfortable for a lot of people,” she says.

It was also important that they kept the menu and concept simple, as the restaurant is a two-person operation. Chris will run the back of house and Jen will be up front.

The seating area will be limited to 22 people, as they are hoping “grab and go” will make up most of their business.

“It’s our first time so we want to make sure we start small so we can handle it and go from there,” she says.

After all, they took a big risk to try this. The Nelsons did almost all of the fit-up themselves.

“We are totally boot-strapping this,” Jen says. “I took money out of my retirement fund to help buy the equipment and set up the space and we both quit our jobs to invest in this opportunity. So we’re totally blood, sweat and tears. We’re totally deep into it.”

Hours will be from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. Learn more at “Jennysueart” on Facebook.