In addition to tidy aisles of colorful cereal boxes and coolers stocked with milk and eggs, Coborn’s Market & Table—which opens in Plymouth on March 12—is bringing local, scratch-made restaurant fare right into the grocery store.
Coborn’s calls it the “grocerant” model, where shoppers can pick up the essentials for the week ahead and stop by one of the chef-driven, in-store restaurants for a sit-down or take-home lunch or dinner.
St. Cloud-based Coborn’s has been part of the Minnesota grocery scene for 105 years and is still owned and run by the Coborn family. The new Plymouth store marks the company’s first foray into the Twin Cities and will focus heavily on Minnesota-made products, from the deli counter to the produce section.
Partnering with Coborn’s for the “grocerant” are Twin Cities celeb chefs David Fhima and Alicia Hinze. Fhima is behind several popular eateries, from Fhima’s in Minneapolis to Vagabondo in Excelsior to Mother Dough Bakery. Hinze is the founder of uber-successful scratch bakery-cafe The Buttered Tin, which has two existing locations in St. Paul and Minneapolis.
At Coborn’s Market & Table, Fhima launches The Global Table, which will offer counter-service dishes in three culinary traditions: homemade rigatoni, spaghetti, and tiramisu from Basta Pasta; authentic tacos, burritos, and churros from Abuela’s Mexican Kitchen; and handcrafted, gourmet burgers—with hand-cut fries—from Brother’s Burgers.
Hinze launches the third location of The Buttered Tin, serving up the bakery’s beloved biscuits, coffee drinks, breakfast sandwiches, eggs Benedicts, and more.
Both Fhima’s and Hinze’s in-store restaurants are situated around a food-hall-style seating area. Cobon’s hosts some of its own concepts there, which include Penny Horse Parlor, a retro ice cream and soda shop, plus a fried chicken counter, a sushi bar, and more. A glass-enclosed fireplace is the centerpiece of the indoor seating area, and a comfortable patio, adorned with twinkle lights, will welcome guests to linger over a meal when spring arrives.
At a press event this week, guests sampled The Buttered Tin’s savory biscuits and gravy, featuring a dense, scone-like biscuit topped with creamy sausage gravy, and lush cinnamon rolls topped with a generous dollop of icing. The Global Table served up saucy rigatoni Bolognese with toothsome homemade rigatoni, crispy beef birria tacos, and a Wagyu beef burger topped with cheddar on a Mother Dough milk bun.
In his remarks at the press event, David Fhima said opening an in-grocery restaurant felt natural with Coborn’s. “It’s two families who share the same values, who share the love of sitting at a table and sharing a meal,” Fhima said. “We all know how it is, when we go to the grocery store and then get home and think, ‘Now I have to cook.’ Come in, have dinner from The Global Table, and know that you have a meal that was honestly prepared with amazing ingredients.”
Alicia Hinze echoed that. “We’ve always believed food should taste like someone cared while making it—because we do,” she told the crowd. “Grocery stores are where life actually happens. It’s where families plan weeknight dinners and kids convince their parents to grab a treat.”
Coborn’s Market & Pantry opens March 12 at 6 a.m. 6130 Sycamore Lane N., Plymouth; coborns.com/plymouth
