Sep 29, 2021 - Food and Drink

Sweetgreen eyes Twin Cities expansion

Nick Halter

Sweetgreen is bringing its salads to the Twin Cities. Photo: Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

Popular fast-casual salad chain Sweetgreen is plotting a Twin Cities expansion.

Driving the news: The Southern California-based chain registered to do business in Minnesota last month and has begun a site search in the metro, according to Axios sources.

Sweetgreen declined to comment.

Why it matters: Sweetgreen has a cult following on the coasts and in Chicago, and it's expected to generate big excitement in town.

But it'll also create a local salad battle, as Sweetgreen is entering the home turf of both Green + The Grain and Crisp & Green.

State of play: Sweetgreen, which had 120 restaurants as of the summer, is in expansion mode as it prepares to go public.

Meanwhile, Crisp & Green has begun its own expansion beyond the Twin Cities.

The intrigue: Where Sweetgreen chooses to open will be telling. Is it willing to bet on the downtowns, which still haven't recovered from the pandemic, or will it target more suburban or urban neighborhoods?

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Sweetgreen eyes Twin Cities expansion

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