Sweetgreen enters two new markets

Sweetgreen continues to expand its brand in the Midwest.

The fast-casual salad and healthy eating chain opened its first restaurant in Indiana, at The Fashion Mall at Keystone in Indianapolis. It also opened its first location in Minnesota, at the Galleria Mall in Edina. Both eateries opened on September 13.

The Edina location can seat up to 20 indoor diners, with additional seating for 30 on its outdoor patio. The Fashion Mall location can accommodate up to 30 indoor diners with additional seating for 48 on its outdoor patio.

The two new outposts are part of Sweetgreen’s ongoing Midwest expansion. In August, the company opened its first location in Michigan, in Birmingham. Two additional Michigan locations are slated to open this fall.

Sweetgreen, which went public last November, expects to open at least 35 new restaurants in 2022. It is looking to double its footprint in the next three to five years, and sees the potential for 1,000 locations by the end of the decade. The company currently operates more than 170 restaurants.

“Today we open in two new states in the Midwest, helping us to further our goal of connecting more people around the country to healthy, fresh and convenient food options,” said Sweetgreen co-founder and chief concept officer Nicolas Jammet. “Minneapolis-Saint Paul and Indianapolis are both communities with booming culinary scenes, and as both states have deep roots in agriculture, it made entering these markets feel like a natural progression in growing sweetgreens’ Midwest presence.”

Sweetgreen’s local impact efforts continue with both openings. For every meal sold on September 13 in Edina, the company donated a meal to Second Harvest Heartland, an organization whose mission is to end hunger together, providing over 107 million meals to 388 food shelves and nearly 1,000 partner programs serving Minnesota and western Wisconsin last year.

For every meal sold on opening day in Indianapolis, sweetgreen donates a meal to Second Helpings, an organization that delivers more than one million meals to Central Indiana each year, helping nourish Hoosiers who are experiencing food insecurity.