Grandmas Saloon and Grill

What Grandmas Saloon and Grill does

Grandma's Inc. (d/b/a Grandma's Saloon & Grill) is a privately held, family-owned multi-concept restaurant operator headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota. The company runs three Grandma's Saloon & Grill casual dining locations — the original Canal Park restaurant at the foot of the Aerial Lift Bridge (opened February 8, 1976), a Miller Hill Mall-area location, and a Virginia, Minnesota location opened in 1991 to serve the Iron Range — with sit-down American comfort food menus (burgers, sandwiches, steaks, pasta, wild rice dishes, ribs), full bars, and seasonal outdoor deck dining.

The broader Grandma's Restaurant Company portfolio extends beyond the flagship brand to include wholly owned sister concepts Bellisio's Italian Restaurant, Little Angie's Cantina, Adventure Zone Duluth (family entertainment center), and The Garden Duluth, all tied together by the Grandma's Rewards loyalty program that allows customers to earn and redeem points across the family of restaurants. Under the hood, the technology stack is light: the company uses standard point-of-sale in-restaurant, takes phone-in take-out orders at all locations, runs online ordering through third-party platform ChowNow at Canal Park, and operates its loyalty program on Reward Me Baby. No proprietary platform, mobile-app codebase, or AI/ML capability is disclosed.

The company monetizes almost entirely through dine-in and take-out food and beverage transactions at unit-level cash, with menu items priced $7.70–$25.55, a 3.5% cash discount at the Virginia location, weekday promotional pricing under the 'Weekday Wows' program, catering services, and a closed-loop loyalty loop (1 point per $1, 100 points = $10 reward). Distribution is regional and concentrated in the Upper Midwest; marketing relies on the company website, Instagram (@grandmascanalpark), email/rewards communications, community sponsorships (Grandma's Marathon, Duluth Oktoberfestival), and earned media. Ownership has been sole-proprietor Andy Borg Jr. since he bought out co-founder Michael Paulucci in 2014; Mr. Paulucci passed away in August 2020.

Name

Grandmas Saloon and Grill

Legal name

Grandma's Inc.

Website

https://grandmasrestaurants.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Privately held multi-concept restaurant company operating three Grandma's Saloon & Grill casual dining locations in Duluth and Virginia, Minnesota. Founded 1976, it serves American comfort food to tourists, locals, and Iron Range residents via its family of restaurants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Dining Restaurants

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (722410), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Family-Style Restaurants (THAFACAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Neighborhood Bars & Taverns (CRANACAA), Special Occasion & Destination Restaurants (THAFACAK)

Keywords

• Casual dining restaurants
• American comfort food
• Full-service restaurant
• Restaurant loyalty program
• Multi-brand restaurant group

Headquarters

HQ city

Duluth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Food and Beverage Sales: Revenue generated from dine-in and take-out orders at three restaurant locations. Menu includes appetizers, burgers, sandwiches, salads, pasta, wild rice dishes, steaks, seafood, and kid's meals. Beverages include soft drinks, coffee, beer, wine, cocktails, and specialty drinks.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Grandma's Saloon & Grill operates casual American full-service restaurants and bars serving appetizers (homemade onion rings, chicken wings, stuffed wild rice mushrooms), burgers, overstuffed sandwiches, salads, steaks, seafood, pasta, wild rice dishes, and a dedicated kids' menu, alongside a full beverage program of soft drinks, coffee, beer, wine, cocktails, and specialty drinks. The flagship Canal Park location has operated since 1976 in Duluth, MN, with two additional Minnesota locations (Miller Hill in Duluth and Virginia on the Iron Range) operating under the Grandma's Restaurant Company umbrella, which also owns Bellisio's Italian Restaurant and Little Angie's Cantina.

Product overview

Grandma's Restaurant Company operates a family of restaurant brands centered around Grandma's Saloon & Grill, established in 1976. The flagship product is the full-service restaurant offering American comfort food including signature burgers, overstuffed sandwiches, steaks, pasta, and wild rice dishes. The company also maintains a loyalty program (Grandma's Rewards) and a weekday promotion program (Weekday Wows) to drive customer engagement. Multiple physical locations serve the Duluth, MN area (Canal Park, Miller Hill) and Iron Range (Virginia), with the rewards program extending to sister brands Bellisio's Italian Restaurant and Little Angie's Cantina.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grandma's Saloon & Grill - Restaurant & Bar Full-service casual American restaurant and bar serving appetizers, burgers, sandwiches, salads, steaks, seafood, pasta, wild rice dishes, a kids' menu, and a full beverage program of soft drinks, coffee, beer, wine, cocktails, and specialty drinks to dine-in and take-out customers.
• Canal Park Location Flagship restaurant location at 522 Lake Avenue South, Duluth, MN 55802, offering dine-in and take-out with seasonal deck dining overlooking Lake Superior and the Aerial Lift Bridge; downstairs dining open daily 11:30 AM - 9:00 PM, upbar closes Sunday-Thursday 11:00 PM and Friday-Saturday 12:00 AM with pizza after 7:00 PM.
• Miller Hill Location

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• IndeedminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGrandma's Restaurant Company uses Indeed job posting platform to advertise open positions at all locations. Job listings redirect to Indeed from company hiring page.
• ChowNowcoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party online ordering platform integration enabling take-out orders at the Canal Park location. Direct integration with restaurant POS system.
• Bellisio's Italian RestaurantcoreOthersSister restaurant under Grandma's Restaurant Company family of restaurants. Points can be earned and redeemed at Bellisio's along with Grandma's locations. Located in the same regional market.
• Little Angie's CantinacoreOthersSister restaurant under Grandma's Restaurant Company family of restaurants. Points can be earned and redeemed at Little Angie's along with Grandma's locations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Cracker Barrel: Cracker Barrel is a broad casual dining incumbent serving American comfort food, breakfast, and family meals in a distinctive, experience-led setting. Its family orientation, broad menu, and destination dining model are comparable to Grandma's, despite its national scale.
• Applebee's: Applebee's is a national full-service casual dining chain offering American food, alcoholic beverages, takeout, and family/group occasions. It competes for the same broad casual-dining demand as Grandma's, while operating at substantially greater scale.
• Red Robin: Red Robin is a national casual dining chain focused on burgers, sandwiches, beverages, and family or group meals. It is comparable to Grandma's in service style, menu breadth, beverage-led occasions, and reliance on a differentiated guest experience.
• Famous Dave's: Famous Dave's is an established casual dining chain centered on barbecue, sandwiches, and drinks, including ribs and other shareable comfort foods. Its combination of full-service dining, alcoholic beverages, group occasions, and takeout overlaps materially with Grandma's offering.
• Texas Roadhouse: Texas Roadhouse is an established casual dining and bar chain with steaks, burgers, beverages, and a lively group-oriented atmosphere. Its full-service format, American comfort-food positioning, and bar traffic make it a useful broad incumbent comparison.
• Buffalo Wild Wings: Buffalo Wild Wings operates casual restaurants and bars with American food, shared dishes, and a strong sports and nightlife orientation. It is relevant to Grandma's because both combine full-service meals, alcohol service, group occasions, and local-market traffic.

Direct peers

• Black Woods Grill & Bar: Black Woods Grill & Bar is a Duluth-area casual restaurant and bar serving American food, drinks, and group occasions. Its local geography, full-service format, and bar-led positioning make it a close operating comparison to Grandma's.
• Duluth Grill: Duluth Grill is a local casual dining restaurant in the same Duluth market, with broad American menu appeal and dine-in, takeout, and beverage occasions. It is comparable to Grandma's because it competes for local diners, tourists, families, and group business.

Regional players

• Green Mill Restaurant & Bar: Green Mill operates casual American restaurants and bars in the Upper Midwest, with a menu spanning pizza, sandwiches, and beverages. It shares Grandma's regional positioning and full-service restaurant-and-bar model, although its network extends beyond Duluth.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/grandmascanalpark
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grandmas-restaurants

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Grandmas Saloon and Grill