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Wave of Latin businesses, culture bringing diversity to Minneapolis neighborhood

A neighborhood in Minneapolis is seeing a wave of Latino business owners bring diversity to the area.

In the last year, a handful of Latino businesses ranging from restaurants to nightclubs opened their doors.

From the floor-to-ceiling greenery and pops of color around every corner, Ivan Cardenas is bringing Latin vibes to the doorstep of Minneapolis.

“You come inside here, and you see tropical drinks and food,” said Cardenas, the owner of Rumba. “In Rumba there’s food, drinks and dancing.”

Cardenas opened Rumba in September to bring new flavor to Uptown. It’s a restaurant during the day and turns into a dancing nightclub from Thursdays to Sundays.

“I want to show people from Minneapolis how Latinos do life — how we eat, drink and party,” Cardenas said.

The food is crafted by a chef from Tulum, Mexico and the DJs are from Miami.

Cardenas said the restaurant is riddled with Latino culture and comfort.

“It’s a warm place like home and like family,” he said. “I want people to come in and enjoy it with us.”

Cardenas said seeing people happy and smiling in his restaurant is what makes it all worth it.

“I’m so happy. I feel so good and I say ‘Thank God’ for this,” he said.

Just a few steps down the block on Girard Avenue, there’s a slice of Argentina.

Chef Facundo DeFraia is the brains behind Boludo. His father, Omar Cruz, is a friendly face who helps out at some of the locations in Minneapolis.

“The pizza is amazing. I love Pepperoni,” Cruz said in Spanish. “I am so proud of my son and what he has accomplished.”

Cruz said the family wanted to bring a taste of Buenos Aires to Minneapolis.

The Uptown location was the newest opening to spread the dough and Latin culture.

“He [his son] came here with the influence of his friends from Argentina. We wanted to show ‘We are from Argentina and we love our cuisine,’” Cruz said in Spanish. The Latino businesses are passionate about sharing their culture so Minnesotans can experience it.

“To be a bit more open-minded and trying new things is always a good thing and not just staying in your own bubble,” Maribel Estrada Martinez, Boludo Uptown manager, said. “I like to experience that too.”

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A popular bakery in St. Paul is opening its second location in Northeast Minneapolis after finding a location that felt like fate to its owners.

On Sept. 28, husband-and-wife owners Francois Kiemde and Melissa Borgmann-Kiemde joined Minneapolis Council Member Michael Rainville to hold a ribbon cutting for the grand opening of La Boulangerie Marguerite, known for their croissants and pastries.

The new location takes over the former Maeve’s Café spot, and more recently Mary Ellen’s Bistro before it at 300 13th Ave. NE.

Its opening represents a dream the couple worked hard to achieve — one that was a long time in the making.

"Fourteen years ago when we were just dating, I was a teacher at Minneapolis Public Schools, and we had a friend who lived only a couple blocks from this location," Melissa Borgmann-Kiemde told FOX 9 of the location’s origins. "We said ‘Wouldn’t that make the cutest little bakery?’ We picked it out then, but getting married was the first order of business."

Francois lived in Madison, Wisconsin, at the time, owning his own bakery in Francois’ Bakery & Café. Before that, he studied at the French Culinary Institute in New York City, now known as the International Culinary Center, after immigrating to America from Burkina Faso in West Africa at the age of 25 in 1995.

After moving to Minneapolis to be with Melissa — "It was either he moves here or I go there," Melissa says — they had a daughter together, Marguerite, named after her sister.

On a roundtrip home from her parent’s wedding anniversary in Nebraska, the idea to make their dream a reality together was officially hatched.

"My dad was speaking to Francois, saying we’re not getting any younger," Melissa said. "We Googled locations coming back home, and somewhere outside of Sioux Falls the idea was born."

Their first location at 1279 Randolph Ave. – formerly PJ Murphy's Bakery – opened in 2017, offering croissants, apple fritters and donuts.

"It was challenging at the beginning, it hasn’t always been smooth," Francois said. "But we’re still standing, even after the pandemic."

Six years into establishing their first location and expanding their brand together, the building they first spotted all those years ago became available, allowing them to move in.

"We owe our very existence to our neighborhood in St. Paul, and we hope to have the same support here," said Francois. "We’ve already noticed we have."

The Northeast location will offer all the familiar breads and sweets, with the addition of savory options such as ham and cheese croissants, soups and coffee, all with available seating for patrons.

"The idea was always to take the bread, and add protein to it," Melissa said.

"In St. Paul, we also don’t have seating capacity. We always wanted to create a community and place for people to sit," said Francois. "We want to take you to Paris."

Long-term the duo hopes to make their business a family one, with their daughter eventually taking over the reins. Admittedly, that path still has to be forged with its namesake.

"We want to see this legacy passed on to her, but right now it’s in the negotiation stage," said Francois with a laugh. "She sees what we’re doing, and we want this to be hers when we retire."

"The whole way we’ve felt led down a particular path," Melissa said. "Our story has a bit of fate tied into it."

The preseason projections for the Gophers men's basketball team are far from flattering this year, but that doesn't shake the expectations third-year coach Ben Johnson has for his program.

Before Tuesday's practice, Johnson showed his players a video of Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin talking about how polished and professional Houston Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud looked because he played at Ohio State.

"Stroud's doing an awesome job," Tomlin said on the video. "He looks mature beyond his years. He looks like a guy who just wore the responsibility of being a franchise quarterback at Ohio State. You know what I mean. Some programs are different than others."

Tomlin added: "You do it for multiple years at a place like that, man. It's probably very similar in terms of wearing the responsibilities for being a quarterback for an organization at this level. He doesn't appear to be overwhelmed by it at all. He manages himself in game and out of game with a maturity level that's impressive."

Johnson gave his team a speech after the Tomlin video about how he wants to raise the standard of what it means to play for the Gophers.

"In my mind, we're not taking a back seat to anybody," Johnson told the team Tuesday. "Dudes that play here. That needs to be said about us. That you played at Minnesota, so you're going to be at this level. That standard has risen because you played here. Everybody clear on that?"

Is it realistic for Gophers hoops to be talked about like Ohio State football? Obviously not after they finished last in the Big Ten in back-to-back seasons. But Johnson's message is clear that his goal is for players to have much higher expectations for themselves and the program.

Looking back on this 2021 profile on Johnson, when he took the Gophers job, he also talked about Tomlin being one of the coaches he tries to emulate. A framed picture of Tomlin (along with Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra) was on the wall in Johnson's basketball office.

"Mike Tomlin is a guy who does it the right way, all the way around," Johnson said in 2021. "He's a players' coach but scheme-wise he knows what he's doing. He can do it all. He's got quotes I tell the team all the time. That dude is just a winner."

Practice notes

— Quality point guards are hard to come by in college basketball. Last season, the Gophers had no depth at the position. They have three players who will be the team's primary ball-handlers this season with Pepperdine transfer Mike Mitchell Jr., Howard transfer Elijah Hawkins and freshman Cam Christie, Johnson said Tuesday. Sophomore Braeden Carrington was also mentioned as "being more comfortable handling it."

"This is probably the most perimeter ballhandlers that we've had," Johnson said. "With Cam, with Mike and with Elijah, you've got three guys who I'm pretty good with playing in ball screens, pushing it. [Dawson Garcia's] a guy on a defensive rebound, I'm comfortable with him bringing it. So, it's another ballhandler."

— Forwards Parker Fox and Isaiah Ihnen were cleared for contact this fall and looked to be running, jumping, and dunking with ease in practice. There were really no signs of them being out the last two seasons with knee injuries. Ihnen even ran with what could potentially be starting lineup alongside Mitchell, Christie, Garcia and Pharrel Payne. Known for his highlight-reel play as a Division II All-American, Fox was dunking everything at the rim.

"He's getting that pop back," Johnson said on Fox. "Like anybody, it's going to be a work in progress once you get used to playing 5-on-5 with conditioning. But you can see he's got a nose for the ball. He really understands how to play."

As exciting as it is to check out the newest restaurants around Minneapolis and St. Paul, there are certain neighborhood gems that anchor the dining landscape. For golden-fried arepas, tangy pani puri, or creamy pasteis de nata, look no further. Here are 11 great underrated restaurants worth returning to time and time again in the Twin Cities.

Note that these restaurants are listed geographically.

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Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process. If you buy something or book a reservation from an Eater link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics policy.

Tucked off Dodd Road in a residential area of St. Paul, El Cubano serves hot sandwiches, all toasted and pressed with butter. Try the eponymous Cubano, a layered masterpiece of roasted meat, tangy mustard, and pickles, served with yuca frita and a house mojito dip. (El Cubano serves entrees like Dominican-style red snapper or traditional Cuban bistec encebollado, too.) Don’t forget an order of the tostones.

Moscow on the Hill is a St. Paul staple for Eastern European fare: Think pillowy deruny (Ukranian-style potato pancakes), borscht, chicken kiev, and neatly wrapped pelmeni served with a dollop of sour cream. The house infused vodkas — particularly the horseradish — are one of this restaurant’s specialties. There’s a big, leafy patio out back for when the weather’s good; otherwise, the main dining room, draped in rich red and gold fabrics, is one of St. Paul’s coziest.

Zait & Za’atar, a casual “Mediterranean dhaba” on Selby Avenue, marries Mediterranean and South Asian flavors. It’s a great place to fill up on fresh falafel, baba ghanoush, and juicy shawarma sandwiches and plates. But don’t overlook the chaat: crispy samosas, tangy pani puri dripping with tamarind, and vada doused in cool dahi.

Estelle pairs breezy Spanish and Portuguese dishes like patatas bravas, shrimp al ajillo, and beet escabeche with comforting Italian pastas. The pasteis de nata, a classic Portuguese egg tart, is a flawless sweet note at the end of the meal. Slip into the cozy adjoining bar for an herbaceous nightcap (think charred rosemary vodka, plum honey shrub, etc.).

Heather’s might be the perfect neighborhood restaurant. The brunch specials — like pineapple upside-down pancakes and classic croque-madames — are always a hit. For lunch and dinner, it rotates in specials that feel fresh and seasonal (think sweet corn polenta with roasted duck and blueberry chutney). The space is casual but bright, and usually filled with fresh-cut flowers. Cap off a meal with a stroll around nearby Lake Nokomis, and grab a noodle salad from the little deli counter on the way out.

Apoy serves traditional Filipino cuisine and a few original dishes of its own on Nicollet Avenue. Start with the classic lumpia or tender, caramelized tocino; the Shrimp Bicol Express pairs creamy coconut with piquant ginger in a tantalizing sauce. For dessert, the halo halo, a shaved ice medley of coconut, plantains, jackfruit, and sweetbeans, is the perfect dessert for a hot day (or a cold one, honestly).

Chef Abi Baire takes inspiration from the women in her family — her grandmother, mother, and Aunt Maria — who’ve been cooking Salvadoran food for generations. She brought their time-tested recipes to Minneapolis in 2015, when she opened Abi’s Restaurant on Lyndale Avenue. The entire menu, which has everything from quesabirria to camarones a la plancha, is stellar, but the absolute musts are the flavor-packed pupusas. Mix and match the revueltas, the chicharrón con queso, and the queso con ayote.

Peninsula is an Eat Street gem that serves Malaysian fare like tamarind fried fish and prawn sambal, but the can’t-miss dish here is the spicy golden tofu. This restaurant makes its tofu by hand — it’s cut into big, irregular hunks, fried to a perfect crisp but custardy and tender on the inside. Note that Peninsula is takeout only.

Cafe Racer’s arepas — subtly sweet and soft on the inside, fried golden on the outside — are at the heart of this pared-down Latin American menu. For breakfast, they’re served with marmalade or kielbasa, or as a side to an omelet topped with bright salsa criolla and pico. For dinner, they’re a perfect complement to braised pulled pork or roasted chicken, and other sides like yuca frita and sweet plantains.

Nearly lost in the menagerie of PR-backed restaurants that populate Dinkytown, Korea Restaurant keeps quietly chugging along with a glorious assortment of bibimbap, bulgogi, and potstickers. Lunch is mayhem, but worth every second of wait time. Prepare for self-service and generous helpings, and don’t be shy to refill on the side dishes.

While Giulia is a hotel restaurant in sleepy downtown Minneapolis, it pretty much stands on its own. Giulia shares its vaulted space with the Emery’s lobby, but the hotel overlap stops there. The focus on northern Italian flavors are precise and spot-on — think virtually faultless ricotta meatballs, a play on arancini (here, named suppli) paired with apple, and maltagliati: homemade, silky ribbons of pasta with a tonkotsu-style Japanese stock that’s wildly flavorful.

Tucked off Dodd Road in a residential area of St. Paul, El Cubano serves hot sandwiches, all toasted and pressed with butter. Try the eponymous Cubano, a layered masterpiece of roasted meat, tangy mustard, and pickles, served with yuca frita and a house mojito dip. (El Cubano serves entrees like Dominican-style red snapper or traditional Cuban bistec encebollado, too.) Don’t forget an order of the tostones.

Moscow on the Hill is a St. Paul staple for Eastern European fare: Think pillowy deruny (Ukranian-style potato pancakes), borscht, chicken kiev, and neatly wrapped pelmeni served with a dollop of sour cream. The house infused vodkas — particularly the horseradish — are one of this restaurant’s specialties. There’s a big, leafy patio out back for when the weather’s good; otherwise, the main dining room, draped in rich red and gold fabrics, is one of St. Paul’s coziest.

Zait & Za’atar, a casual “Mediterranean dhaba” on Selby Avenue, marries Mediterranean and South Asian flavors. It’s a great place to fill up on fresh falafel, baba ghanoush, and juicy shawarma sandwiches and plates. But don’t overlook the chaat: crispy samosas, tangy pani puri dripping with tamarind, and vada doused in cool dahi.

Estelle pairs breezy Spanish and Portuguese dishes like patatas bravas, shrimp al ajillo, and beet escabeche with comforting Italian pastas. The pasteis de nata, a classic Portuguese egg tart, is a flawless sweet note at the end of the meal. Slip into the cozy adjoining bar for an herbaceous nightcap (think charred rosemary vodka, plum honey shrub, etc.).

Heather’s might be the perfect neighborhood restaurant. The brunch specials — like pineapple upside-down pancakes and classic croque-madames — are always a hit. For lunch and dinner, it rotates in specials that feel fresh and seasonal (think sweet corn polenta with roasted duck and blueberry chutney). The space is casual but bright, and usually filled with fresh-cut flowers. Cap off a meal with a stroll around nearby Lake Nokomis, and grab a noodle salad from the little deli counter on the way out.

Apoy serves traditional Filipino cuisine and a few original dishes of its own on Nicollet Avenue. Start with the classic lumpia or tender, caramelized tocino; the Shrimp Bicol Express pairs creamy coconut with piquant ginger in a tantalizing sauce. For dessert, the halo halo, a shaved ice medley of coconut, plantains, jackfruit, and sweetbeans, is the perfect dessert for a hot day (or a cold one, honestly).

Chef Abi Baire takes inspiration from the women in her family — her grandmother, mother, and Aunt Maria — who’ve been cooking Salvadoran food for generations. She brought their time-tested recipes to Minneapolis in 2015, when she opened Abi’s Restaurant on Lyndale Avenue. The entire menu, which has everything from quesabirria to camarones a la plancha, is stellar, but the absolute musts are the flavor-packed pupusas. Mix and match the revueltas, the chicharrón con queso, and the queso con ayote.

Peninsula is an Eat Street gem that serves Malaysian fare like tamarind fried fish and prawn sambal, but the can’t-miss dish here is the spicy golden tofu. This restaurant makes its tofu by hand — it’s cut into big, irregular hunks, fried to a perfect crisp but custardy and tender on the inside. Note that Peninsula is takeout only.

Cafe Racer’s arepas — subtly sweet and soft on the inside, fried golden on the outside — are at the heart of this pared-down Latin American menu. For breakfast, they’re served with marmalade or kielbasa, or as a side to an omelet topped with bright salsa criolla and pico. For dinner, they’re a perfect complement to braised pulled pork or roasted chicken, and other sides like yuca frita and sweet plantains.

Nearly lost in the menagerie of PR-backed restaurants that populate Dinkytown, Korea Restaurant keeps quietly chugging along with a glorious assortment of bibimbap, bulgogi, and potstickers. Lunch is mayhem, but worth every second of wait time. Prepare for self-service and generous helpings, and don’t be shy to refill on the side dishes.

While Giulia is a hotel restaurant in sleepy downtown Minneapolis, it pretty much stands on its own. Giulia shares its vaulted space with the Emery’s lobby, but the hotel overlap stops there. The focus on northern Italian flavors are precise and spot-on — think virtually faultless ricotta meatballs, a play on arancini (here, named suppli) paired with apple, and maltagliati: homemade, silky ribbons of pasta with a tonkotsu-style Japanese stock that’s wildly flavorful.