Green + the Grain Offers Fresh Details on New Restaurant

Green + the Grain, the beloved Minneapolis food truck best known for crunchy salads and organic fro-yo, is opening a brick-and-mortar location in the Lasalle Plaza skyway. As first reported in The Journal, the new location is slated for official launch June 1 in the space last occupied by Cookies and More. Hours will be Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

According to co-founder Tiffany Hauser, the “minimalist” restaurant will seat 28 between “reclaimed wood communal tables spanning almost the entire length of the space...and then bar stool window seating as well.” Decor will be muted.

The brick-and-mortar Green + the Grain won’t impact the truck’s schedule, at least to start. But a customized, brand-new kitchen — chef Luke Sawtell currently utilizes a shared kitchen that’s “not tailored to our menu,” says Hauser — means “vast improvements” to Green + the Grain’s offerings. The highlights, per Hauser include a new breakfast menu boasting healthy bites, more wraps, and better availability for premium offerings, like “tenderloin, ahi tuna and shrimp.”

Photo courtesy Green + the Grain Facebook Page

According to The Journal, Green + the Grain plans 8 to 12 staff positions across its two properties. That means a handful of open kitchen and front-of-house positions: one full-time  “rock star lead line cook” working directly with Sawtell, two part-time prep cooks, a utility person and a cashier.

Per Hauser, the Lasalle Plaza space is the culmination of a years-long ambition for Green + the Grain’s co-owners, who “had the vision to open a [retail concept] for several years.” The skyway was a natural fit for what they wanted to do, but “the restaurant industry, especially in the skyway, is brutal for entrepreneurs,” she says, in the understatement of the decade.

After a couple deals fell through at the last minute, the pair put the skyway concept on the back burner and launched a mobile eatery. Energized by Green + the Grain’s critical and financial success, Hauser launched a new search for downtown retail space at the end of last season, snagged some additional financing, and sealed the deal earlier this year.

- by Brian Martucci