Steele Smiley to Open Six New Puralima Restaurants
Just two months after shuttering plant-based burger chain Stalk & Spade, entrepreneur Steele Smiley is doubling down on Puralima, his “Latin-inspired” fast-casual restaurant concept.
On Tuesday, Steele Brands announced plans to open a half dozen new Puralima locations in the Twin Cities. Initial plans call for a new location on Lake Street in Wayzata and another at 50th and France in Edina. Both of those stores are are slated to open in late spring of this year.
The company also plans to open Puralima restaurants in Blaine, Eden Prairie, Maple Grove, and Woodbury. In an email to TCB, Smiley said the company is “currently in the site selection process” for those locations and doesn’t have precise opening dates quite yet. However, the aim is to open all of the new stores by summer 2025, he said.
“We are very familiar with these areas as we have other brands currently operating there,” Smiley said of the additional suburban locations. “We look for areas where people live, work and play, that are convenient to get to in their daily lives.”
Beyond Minnesota’s borders, Steele Brands aims to open additional Puralima locations in “several states in the Upper Midwest,” according to a news release issued Tuesday.
Today, Puralima operates just one location, which opened in the North Loop neighborhood of Minneapolis this past July. In the release, Smiley said the brand has been “well received” in the area so far. “Americans have a growing and dominant desire for Latin-inspired cuisine, but most do not want to attempt to replicate it at home,” he said. “People are excited to find convenient options that are also delicious, whole, and healthy.”
Smiley initially planned to call the chain “Paco & Lime” and had signaled his intent to open a dozen locations in the Twin Cities, but he changed gears last year. Steele Brands had developed the Paco & Lime idea prior to Covid-19.
“At that time we announced Paco, it was simply a concept with no open locations,” Smiley noted. “The learning from the pandemic gave us the ability to create an entirely new concept that met the rapidly changing consumer desires and expectations.”
Upon announcing the closure of Stalk & Spade back in November, Steele Brands said it planned to turn its attention to its two “growth engines:” Puralima and Crisp & Green, a salad chain with stores in 15 states.
