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

Leases for the kitchens have yet to be signed, but businesses like BianDang Taiwanese 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 by 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 , Pohlad Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Wells Fargo, Otto Bremer Trust, UnitedHealth Group, Minneapolis Foundation and the Julie and Doug Baker Foundation.