MINNEAPOLIS, MN – In a recent article from CBS Minnesota we learned about  3 restaurants that have recently closed in Minneapolis. Why did they close? Well according to the owners…Food Trucks. While we may agree that food trucks have become popular and are gaining traction in areas such as the Minneapolis Skyway, we also know that food trucks are not the cause for a restaurant closure.
Photo by Ming-Te Lu (Flickr.com)
Peter’s Grill was one of the restaurants closed recently so we did a little digging and found some write-ups on Yelp to see what their customers had to say.
This is one of those places that manages to survive because they have an amazing location and history downtown Minneapolis. I believe they might have had some of the best home-cooked meals during their glory days. Now, they’ve managed to go the low quality route and stay in business because of how easy it is for those who work downtown to grab a meal.
I love family owned businesses, but I was VERY disappointed by the food. I ordered the chef salad. What was served to me was worse than something I would prepare in 5 minutes time in my own kitchen.
– Obviously Dole iceberg salad mix
– Kraft cheese slices diced up
– A few slices of poor quality lunch meat
– A poorly hardboiled egg (lots of gray)
– A “freshly baked” roll (tasted very much like Wonder Bread)The portions were scant, which was fine, given how disgusted I was with the salad. My companion ordered one of their wraps, which he also found disappointing. The potato chips were of the cheap “ruffled” variety.
There are many family-owned business downtown that still care about the quality of their food. I’d avoid Peter’s and find someplace else.
Here’s another:
Save your money. EAT SOMEWHERE ELSE! Corned beef, potato salad, cole slaw, and loaf rye bread all looked and tasted like it came from the Walmart deli. Only it cost 10 times more. Waitress refilled my drink, then switched it with the person sitting next to me. YUK! This place needs restaurant impossible badly!
By doing a little more digging we found that their site had listed a number of local awards and some very positive feedback. The problem? The awards and kudos (including one from President Bill Clinton) were from back in the 90’s and early 2000’s. It is very easy to blame others when a longtime (Peter’s Grill was open for 99 years) business fails, but in almost every case, it should be the ownership team that looks in the mirror and realize that old menus, dated decor, poor food and poor service will kill a restaurant before any competition pulls into your neighborhood.
We are sorry that this restaurant failed, but to blame food trucks for their problems is the easy way out.
