The first Minnesota location of chef Justin Sutherland's burgeoning sandwich chain, Big E, will open alongside Grand Ole Creamery in its recently closed pizza restaurant. Sutherland was excited to finally reveal the new location: "You know, St. Paul is home." Sutherland's first restaurant, Handsome Hog, is located nearby in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood. The first Big E location opened last summer in Portland, Ore., inside the Moxy Hotel with a menu lineup of musically inspired sandwiches including a tribute to Biggie meal entitled "It was All A Dream" which contains "Steak, American Cheese, Fried Egg, and Welch's Grape". The name Big E is a nod to the late great Biggie Smalls a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G., one of Sutherland's favorite rappers.

The new restaurant is expected to open before summer and will have a few seats inside, but also offer easy grab-and-go online ordering. Hours will be "early until late," and Sutherland was quick to point out that while eggs are featured on plenty of sandwiches, the shop serves more than early morning pick-me-ups.

Custom-made Japanese-style milk bread buns from St. Paul's Rose Street Patisserie will serve as the base for each bite; Minneapolis' Misfit Coffee Co. will provide the coffee program. Cheeses come from a partnership with Oregon's famous Tillamook creamery and the house hot sauce is Cry Baby Craig's, the Minnesota-made fermented habañero sauce from Sutherland's chef friend Craig Kaiser. Prices are expected to range from $14 to $17, although final details are still in the works. The restaurant also has applied for a wine and beer liquor license.

Check out their website @ EatBigE.com