Two New Restaurants Could Be Headed to Rochester

One constant in the Rochester restaurant world these days is change. And it looks like things here could be changing again, with two new restaurants expressing interest in the Med City.

First, the fast food chain Sonic is apparently taking a really close look at Rochester. According to the Post-Bulletin, the chain, famous for its hot dogs and burgers, as well as its limeade and slushes was looking at expanding to Rochester several years ago. Then the recession hit. Now, though, southeast Minnesota is once again getting some Sonic attention.

"We'll soon be actively looking again in your community. We believe it would be a fantastic community for our brand," said Drew Ritger, Sonic's senior vice president of development in the Post-Bulletin story. "We don't have anybody in Rochester yet that has an interest in a franchise yet, but we will be actively seeing what can be done in the next year."

So, that means it'll likely be at least a few years before any new Sonic could realistically open its doors here, the story said.

The other restaurant that might be looking at expanding to Rochester is the buffet chain, Golden Corral. According to a story in the Star-Tribune, the chain, which is currently "the nation's largest chain of buffet restaurants," is taking over some recently closed Old Country Buffet locations in the Twin Cities.

Now, though, the story says they're opening two locations initially, in Maple Grove and Maplewood, but are also eyeing a couple of other Old Country Buffet locations-- including the location here in southwest Rochester, off Salem Road near TJ Maxx. Rochester's Old Country Buffet in that location closed abruptly earlier this spring.

But, wait-- there's more. According to THIS Post-Bulletin story, Golden Corral WON'T be heading back to Rochester. The story said a local realtor "brokered a lease deal for the restaurant space in the TJ Maxx & More Plaza. It sounds as if Golden Corral might have put in one of the nine bids for OCB space. If so, it didn't win," the story noted.

It went on to say that "The Twin Cities restaurateur who has locked up the spot still is working out his plan for the future restaurant, so he is keeping his plans under wraps for the moment."  The story also said the new restaurant could be some version of an American/Chinese buffet.