$21M commercial kitchen joins developments bringing jobs to north Minneapolis

The Northside Economic Opportunity Network (NEON) will break ground next month on a long awaited $21 million commercial kitchen project that will provide badly needed food prep space to hundreds of small area businesses, officials announced last week.

The 24,000-square-foot NEON Collective Kitchens project is expected to help dent north Minneapolis' reputation as only a fast-food haven. Not only will it help food truck and other food operations, it will have a retail section where residents can buy fresh vegetables and healthy meals prepared by catering businesses using the site.

The kitchen incubator will be on W. Broadway next to the Capri Theater.

After years of work dealing with zoning changes, easements and other matters, the city is in the final stages of selling the land to NEON. Approvals are expected any day.

"It's a big deal," said Erik Hansen, director of Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development.

Once open, the business incubator will feature eight massive kitchens, storage, a food court area, plus classrooms and offices on the second floor. Each kitchen will be more than 3,000 square feet, NEON President Warren McLean said.

The facility is expected to create 261 construction jobs and another 264 permanent jobs in north Minneapolis that pay at least $18 an hour. Once open, the commercial kitchens and food hall area are expected to generate about $2 million a year in revenue.

The project is the latest of several targeted for north Minneapolis. Real estate developer and former NBA player Devean George is building a $29 million factory near the Minneapolis Farmers Market that will produce modular homes and commercial spaces.

Two miles from George's factory, Calvin Littlejohn's Tri-Construction will soon remodel and expand the Black Women's Wealth Alliance's business incubator on W. Broadway and Emerson Avenue. Not far away, Renewable Energy Partners expects to open its long-awaited $2.5 million jobs-training next year.

Planning for the commercial kitchen has taken several years. The nonprofit had hoped to break ground in 2023.

Now, the incubator has "come to fruition and we are excited about it. We had a lot of help getting here," McLean said.

Having access to reliable and permanent kitchen space should allow many of these home-based or part-time food businesses to expand their operations and hiring, officials said.

"This project is complex. And it takes time to raise capital for a project of this size," McLean said. "We started with an estimated project cost of $1.5 million, and it has since grown to a $21 million initiative. The Cargill Foundation's contribution helped us assess the project properly, leading to the current figure of $21 million."

In surveys, NEON — which provides mentoring, loans and business development assistance to entrepreneurs in north Minneapolis — said more than 500 of its clients in the food-business arena said they desperately need more preparation space, said NEON spokesman Phillip Conley Jr.

Leases for the kitchens have yet to be signed, but businesses like BianDang are ready for it to open. The business owners will be able to rent NEON's kitchens hourly or annually, Conley said.

BianDang bento box chef Michael Feng and his wife, Michelle Wang, are "excited about the opportunity," Feng said. They sell Taiwanese street food from their food truck at local hot spots such as the Hello Boba Block Party, Minneapolis Farmers Market and in Dinkytown near the University of Minnesota.

Using NEON's kitchen will allow BianDang "to do a higher volume of food," expand into a second or third food truck and start selling frozen Taiwanese meals to the wholesale market, Feng said.

"We have been looking for a long-term kitchen solution. So, this would definitely help with our operation," Feng said.

To date NEON, has raised $18.5 million of the $21 million needed to complete the building. A new market-tax credit allocation is expected to close soon, which will help bridge the funding gap, McLean said.

Major funders include General Mills, the Bush Foundation, WEM Foundation, the ag giant Cargill, the Pohlad Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, Wells Fargo, the Otto Bremer Trust, UnitedHealth Group, the Minneapolis Foundation and the Julie and Doug Baker Foundation, among others.

It also included a $1 million congressional earmark from U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar's office and help from the city and county.

NEON board member Teto Wilson, who just bought and is renovating the shuttered Fourth Street Saloon building on W. Broadway, said NEON's kitchen incubator "will be a great addition to the community. It's much needed. It will provide more healthy-food options and employment. And this neighborhood needs it."

He noted that often residents' dollars don't get recirculated inside the neighborhood because the services and resources are not nearby.

"So projects like these are going to help. It's not going to stop all the bleeding, but it can certainly help," he said.

Golden Valley-based Mortenson Construction and Minneapolis-based Tri Construction plan to begin work Oct. 18 and expect to complete the building in November 2025. Minneapolis-based LSE Architects designed the two-story facility.