Ridgedale's Holiday Lunch Stop Moved Across Plymouth Road

For this holiday season, the place to eat around Ridgedale Center has moved across Plymouth Road. The original Redstone American Grill closed this fall after nearly 27 years beside the mall. The company said parking problems contributed, as development replaced Ridgedale's surface lots. Across the road, the old Wells Fargo bank-and-office site at 1809 Plymouth Road has been rebuilt as two commercial buildings. Chipotle has been open there since the end of July, and Shake Shack set its Minnetonka debut for October 21.

So a Ridgedale trip in late 2026 runs on two sides of the street. Santa, the Christmas Corner and the stores are inside the mall. The quick meal is across the road.

A bank corner, rebuilt for lunch

Minnetonka's city council approved the redevelopment of 1809 Plymouth Road on June 24, 2024. Under the plan, the three-story bank and office building would come down and two commercial buildings would go up in its place. Bank and retail space would fill the south building, and restaurants and retail the north one. The June 2024 planning packet called for a 7,350-square-foot south building and a 7,800-square-foot north building, with parking and restaurant patios.

When the council voted, the restaurant tenants hadn't been named. The property's current tenant plan, dated October 26, 2026, now lists six businesses under the name Shops at Ridgedale Center:

The plan puts Wells Fargo back on the corner it used to fill on its own, this time as one listed tenant among six. Its 4,295 square feet is the largest space on the plan. The rest of the plan is a lunch-and-errands mix: two fast-casual restaurants, a sub shop, a massage studio and a veterinary clinic.

As Bring Me The News reported, this is Shake Shack's fifth Minnesota location, and the chain had been working on it since 2024. The other four are at or near Mall of America, Southdale Center, the Shoppes at Arbor Lakes and Rosedale Center. With Minnetonka, Ridgedale joins the metro's list of malls that have a Shake Shack on the outlot. For opening day, the company pledged $1 for every sandwich sold to the Intercongregation Communities Association food shelf in Minnetonka.

Why the corner across the road matters more now

The mall's own lots are being built on, and that has pushed dining toward the edges.

The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported in September that Redstone pointed to "ongoing parking challenges at Ridgedale Center as development replaced surface lots." Staff were offered jobs at two other metro locations. The Star Tribune noted that Redstone still has restaurants in Eden Prairie and Maple Grove, so the menu is still close by. It just isn't at Ridgedale anymore.

This connects to a long-running city plan. Minnetonka's Ridgedale Village Center Study was commissioned in 2012, and public-realm guidelines for the area followed in 2017. That plan pictured housing, hotel rooms, restaurants, offices and parking around the mall. As buildings go up on what used to be asphalt, the area's dining has spread outward to pads with their own parking. The north building at 1809 Plymouth Road was planned with its own parking and patios from the start.

For a holiday shopping day, that changes the plan. You no longer need a mall parking space to get lunch. You do need a plan for crossing Plymouth Road.

The hours gap that makes the split useful

Ridgedale Center's standard hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Shake Shack's announced hours at 1809 Plymouth Road are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

So on a weeknight, Shake Shack's posted schedule runs two hours past the mall's close, and three hours later on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday the gap grows to four hours, because the mall closes at 6 p.m. Dinner can come after the shopping, not in the middle of it. Thanksgiving week and Christmas Eve often run on different schedules, so check Ridgedale's hours page before you go.

Ridgedale's holiday calendar, with the meal across the road

Here's what Ridgedale has posted for the season, in date order:

1. The Christmas Corner returns on Level 2, Center Court. The mall's events page lists it as back for the season.
2. Santa photos start Friday, November 20 and run daily through Thursday, December 24, on Level 1, Center Court. Reservations go through the Santa photo booking page.
3. Pet Night with Santa runs Mondays and Tuesdays from November 23 through December 15, 4 to 7 p.m., also on Level 1, Center Court. Book through the Pet Night listing.

Pet Night's 4-to-7 window ends an hour before the mall closes on a Monday or Tuesday. That leaves time for a walk across the road afterward. If you have a dog along, eat with the dog, since the plan for the north building included patios.

For a Santa photo with kids on a Saturday, a simple order is photos first, while the line is shortest early in the day, and lunch across the road after. You stay parked on the Plymouth Road side once the mall part is done. The tenant plan also lists Massage Envy and LiveWell Animal Hospital at the same address, so one stop on that side can cover more than a meal.

A sweeter detour on Cedar Lake Road

If the outing calls for dessert, Ichigo Cafe opened October 1 at 10988 Cedar Lake Road South in Minnetonka. It serves Tokyo-style crepes and Japanese sweets, as the Star Tribune's restaurant roll call noted. A crepe is easier to fit in after Santa than a sit-down dinner, and it gives the day a stop outside the mall area.

What the corner shows about the next few years

The 1809 Plymouth Road project went from approval in June 2024 to an open Chipotle in July 2026, about two years. At the city's own count, it was a three-story office replaced by two low commercial buildings with their own parking. It's also the clearest finished example of where the plans for the Ridgedale area have been heading since 2012: smaller buildings filling the edges, with the mall's lots giving way to construction.

For anyone who shops at Ridgedale every December, the change is practical. The mall keeps the Santa line, the Christmas Corner and the stores. Since Chipotle opened in late July, the quick meal has been on the far side of Plymouth Road, where Shake Shack's announced hours run past the mall's close and the parking belongs to the restaurants.

At Trenary Realty Group, we track how corners like 1809 Plymouth Road change everyday routines in Minnetonka, because those routines are part of what a home near Ridgedale is worth. If you're curious what yours is worth this season, start with a home valuation.