Sneak Peek: Pimento on the Lake

Welcome home!

That’s the greeting you’ll get from Tomme Beevas when you walk into his newest location of Pimento Kitchen, the one in the newly constructed Bde Maka Ska pavilion in Uptown. If you know anything about the iconic Jamaican businessman, you know that above all else, he means it. 

It’s been a long time coming. Originally, the new building which is part of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation system was expected to open in June of this year. Would have been great to catch the summer crowds, but there’s still time and still fun to be had. This is actually a two part project. 

Pimento Market is located in the southern half of the structure. The grab-and-go cafe and market plans to be open year round, as a space for a quick bite, or a source for local gifts. A curated selection of products from more than 20 local BIPOC and women creators are featured: From Junita’s Cookies and Here’s the Deal Spice Company, to Fox Lake Furniture and Creative Native Beading. And of course, Pimento hot sauces. The Pimento team worked with local market legend Mich Berthiaume to bring the market together.

Pimento Kitchen inhabits in the Northern side of the complex which all works under one roof. There is no indoor seating, but much of the patio is covered and there are heaters installed in the ceiling. You’ll find a covered walkway with the main walk-up ordering. You can either order from a self-serve kiosk where you pay with a credit card, or you can opt to order with a counter server who will take cash and id’s for beer orders.

Because: Cheers! There is a beer wall!

Once you’ve ordered, you’ll pick up from a window facing the lake. “We’ll even have QR codes that you can order from your phone if you’re walking around the lake,” Beevas told me. “We’re trying to make it as efficient as possible, because I know that people were frustrated with lines in the past.”

Beevas knows that it feels like this is all coming at the end of the season, but he promises that they will work hard to stay open as long as they can, maybe even year-round. “We got heaters! And even if we have to close most of the week, we might just stay open for weekends. And then there will be events around here that we’ll open for, we’ll do our best!” The back kitchen will be in operation all year round, making the food for the grab and go and bottled sauces, so why not throw a window open on a warm day in February and meet the walkers with the smell of jerk chicken. 

The menu here will be much like the other Pimento locations, yes you can score your One Love bowl, some bone-in jerk chicken, and that famous braised oxtail. But you’ll also find a new beach menu with smoked gouda mac ‘n’ cheese bites, fried shrimp, fries, hot dogs with plantains, a new jerk burger, and a house-recipe black bean veggie burger that Beevas called “half-American, half-Jamaican”. 

After a few training parties and practice runs, the market and the kitchen will have a grand opening on Friday the 20th. Especially if you’re one of the 5 million people who come to this area, welcome home!