Michelin snubs St. Paul
The Guardian reports Michelin left St. Paul off its new Great Lakes coverage, prompting criticism that smaller and immigrant‑run restaurants lose exposure when the guide contracts its map. (theguardian.com)
Michelin’s new American Great Lakes guide will rate Minneapolis restaurants in 2027, but St. Paul is outside the map. (michelinmedia.com) Michelin announced the six-city edition on April 8, 2026, naming Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh. Its inspectors are already dining in those cities, and the first selections will be unveiled in 2027. (michelinmedia.com) The boundary is literal: Michelin and Meet Minneapolis said inspectors will assess restaurants only within Minneapolis city limits. That excludes St. Paul and every other suburb in the Twin Cities metro. (minneapolis.org) The deal is also funded city by city. MPR News and FOX 9 reported that the Minneapolis Tourism Improvement District will pay $250,000 a year for three years, using a hotel-room service charge, for a partnership running from 2027 to 2029. (mprnews.org) That setup helps explain the backlash in St. Paul. A guide that can award stars, Bib Gourmands and recommendations can steer diners, travel coverage and tourism marketing toward one side of the Mississippi River and away from restaurants a few miles east. (guide.michelin.com) The criticism is sharpened by the kinds of restaurants likely to miss out. FOX 9 quoted independent critic Kirstie Kimball saying she worries Michelin attention can tilt diners toward French, Japanese and other fine-dining formats instead of the broader range of local restaurants that need business now. (fox9.com) St. Paul has restaurants with national notice already. Axios pointed to Myriel, the nationally acclaimed St. Paul restaurant that will not be eligible for a Michelin star under the current city-limits rule. (axios.com) Minneapolis officials have framed the partnership as a tourism play. Meet Minneapolis chief executive Melvin Tennant said the guide would move the city from “best-kept secret” status into the global dining conversation after years of national praise for its restaurants. (minneapolis.org) Visit Saint Paul has not announced a matching Michelin partnership. In a statement to Axios, Visit Saint Paul chief executive Jaimee Lucke Hendrikson said, “We know that increased awareness and recognition in the region can benefit all of us.” (axios.com) For now, the result is simple: when Michelin arrives in Minnesota next year, diners will be told to look at Minneapolis, while St. Paul’s restaurants remain off the guide entirely. (michelinmedia.com)
