“We can’t prove it’s the longest dinner party table, but I dare you to prove it’s not,” said Scott Mayer as he announced the upcoming Dinner du Nord on Tuesday.
Mayer addressed a crowd of reporters and organizers next to Peavey Plaza in downtown Minneapolis to unveil details of the Sept. 11 event. Modeled after “The Longest Table” dinners held in other parts of the country, the Nicollet Mall event will feature an expansive seven-block table for nearly 2,000 guests.
R.T. Rybak, the former Minneapolis mayor and president of the Minneapolis Foundation, said the 40 restaurants, food trucks and other food vendors represent “all the flavors of this wonderful place we get to live in.”
Attendees can choose which table and purveyor’s menu to attend, with tickets ranging in price from $40 to $195 (tickets are all-inclusive and include taxes and gratuity). Vendors include Bao Bao Buns, OG Zaza pizza, Soul to Soul BBQ, Lotus, Murray’s, Borough, the Dakota, Fhima’s Minneapolis, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, P.S. Steak and Four Seasons Hotel Minneapolis.
Bao Bao Buns co-owner Edward Zhang talked about how his menu reflects his global upbringing that includes Italy, Hong Kong, Chendu and Minnesota. “This table tells my story,” he said. Other tables range from a classic diner breakfast to salt-baked branzino.
As part of the event, which starts at 5:30 p.m., Nicollet Mall will become a vehicle-free zone to make way for vendors and that expansive dinner table.

Organizers said that while Dinner du Nord is modeled after similar events across the country, it’s unique in its own way while celebrating the local hospitality and downtown communities. The event has also partnered with local nonprofit Help the House Foundation, which raises money to help bridge the gaps between physical health, mental health and general well-being resources for those in the hospitality industry.
The event is sponsored by the city of Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Foundation, Hospitality Minnesota, Meet Minneapolis, Mpls Downtown Council, Mpls.St.Paul Magazine and the Minnesota Star Tribune.