Yia Vang to Open Vinai in Dangerous Man Brewing Space

Well, I think you can finally get your actual hopes up. 

Late Friday, Sara Bonvallet and Rob Miller announced that their iconic brewery in Northeast Minneapolis, Dangerous Man Brewing, would be leaving the neighborhood. The brewing powerhouse couple (“it’s not just a brewery, it’s a love story”) still has a production facility in Maple Lake and live happily on a 40-acre farm in Clearwater. They teased out that the new tenants of the building would do the space right and keep that community vibe flowing. 

Turns out, this morning Yia Vang announced that he would indeed open his long-awaited and much-anticipated Vinai in the space. The full-service Hmong restaurant is named for the refugee camp where Vang was born, and is focused as an homage to the heritage of his family while also acting as an amplifier of Hmong culture, traditions, and stories.

Coming off another successful run at the Minnesota State Fair, and having launched a food stall yesterday at U.S. Bank Stadium for the Vikings season, it feels like this is news we can hold onto. Vinai was originally announced before the pandemic, and our hopes were first raised by the announcement of a spot in the Bottineau neighborhood. Unfortunately, that deal fell through and Vang decided to push onward with other projects, while keeping Vinai on the back burner. 

“The road to opening Vinai has been a much longer one than we expected, but we are finally at a point where we have a home,” said Vang in a statement this morning. “It was a roller coaster of a process but we’ve learned so much in that time and we’ve been so thankful for the patience and support that we’ve been shown over the years.” And this time around, Vang will have ownership in the building itself.

Dangerous Man is not closing until October 21, so there is still time to get one more Peanut Butter Porter.

Look for spring of 2024 for all the hopes and dreams to be fulfilled. Fingers are so crossed.