Maple Grove proclaims itself the 'Restaurant Capital of Minnesota'

The City of Maple Grove has made a bold statement, suggesting they are the "Restaurant Capital of Minnesota" in a new promotion to prospective visitors.

On the Experience Maple Grove website, it states:

"Boasting nearly 150 restaurants, deliciousness is never far away in Maple Grove. From the local favorites to the new and exciting, our vast array of appetizing dining options offers something for everyone! In fact, Maple Grove residents are known to eat out so often that we’ve earned the nickname ‘No Stove – Maple Grove’!"

The restaurants featured on Maple Grove's "Restaurant Row" on Main Street include 3 Squares, Broadway Pizza, Buca di Beppo, Chipotle, Cold Stone Creamery, Crave, Five Guys, Granite City, Hawaii Poke, Kingdom Coffee, Malone's, Naf Naf, Noodles & Company, Panda Express, Panera, Pittsburgh Blue, Redstone, Riviera Maya, Rojo, Sawatdee, The Greek Greek, Tono Pizzeria & Cheesesteaks, Village Inn and Yogurt Lab.

The city also lists more restaurants that aren't on Main Street on its website .

Executive Director of Explore Maple Grove, Greg Anzelc, told WCCO no city had claimed the title until they did, as it's a way to catch people's attentions to visit the city.

A majority of the eateries in Maple Grove are chains and drive-thrus, aside from a handful of standalone local operations such as Malone's Bar and Grill, and local chains like Pittsburgh Blue.

But for a city proclaiming itself Minnesota's restaurant capital, it was somewhat surprising that its city council opted to deny a proposal to build a Dave's Hot Chicken and Hope Breakfast Bar within the Shoppes at Arbor Lakes.

Council members cited issues such as a lack of parking, snow storage and overall pedestrian safety, despite the proposed location being surrounded by oceans of surface parking lots, as well as Red Lobster, Buca di Beppo, Shake Shack, Malone's Bar, Olive Garden and others.

According to OpenTable's "Diners' Choice: Best Overall restaurants in Twin/Minneapolis" list, zero Maple Grove restaurants appear on the list. Eight of the 10 listed are in Minneapolis alone, with the other two in Red Wing and Bloomington.

Maple Grove is yet to make an appearance either in the James Beard Awards Foundation list, with Minneapolis the most commonly featured Minnesota city in the "Oscars of the Restaurant Industry."

Related: Two Minnesota chefs, restaurant named James Beard finalists