Dining Al Fresco Gives Restaurants a Competitive Edge
More restaurants are offering al fresco dining on rooftops or patios as a way to lure in diners. Two soon-to-be-open Maple Grove restaurants will offer outdoor dining options.
“You can feel the air,” said Lam Chuol who ate at Redstone’s outdoor patio on Wednesday. “You finally get out. There’s no snow on the ground.”
With summer-like weather in the forecast for the next few days, people most likely will flock to Maple Grove to eat outside. At Redstone American Grill, some patrons bypass the chance for immediate indoor seating so they can be in the great outdoors. “People wait for like an hour at a time to just get a seat outside,” said Redstone manager Megan Hoeben. “We don’t get a lot of beautiful days here in Minnesota so you’ve got to take advantage of ’em when we have ’em.”
Thanks to a frigid winter most residents in the northwest metro have a pent up desire to get out of the house, or out of the office.
“We’re hibernating here in Minnesota for six months,” said Rob Worthington, who was eating with Chuol. “When it warms up, especially in May and getting into the spring with summer coming up, I can’t wait to get get outside.”
More Maple Grove Restaurants to Offer Al Fresco Dining
Redstone and other restaurants are why Maple Grove is a hot spot for outdoor eating. “Definitely,” Hoeben said. “People will even come out here in the fall and winter months. We have like the heaters going and the fire pit going, which is an attraction here.”
Crave is which is currently under construction on the corner of Elm Creek Boulevard and Main Street. The new restaurant will have an outside eating area. Brick and Bourbon, located in the old Don Pablo’s restaurant, will give customers the option to dine al fresco.
Good news for al fresco diners enjoying the sunshine on a mid-week lunch break. “It’s just the fresh air,” Worthington said. “Sometimes you hear the birds chirping, see some green grass. Flowers are blooming.”
Not to be left out, Golden Valley will have a new outside dining option when Asian fusion restaurant Latitude 14 opens in the old Perkins restaurant on Highway 55.
