On Saturday, June 24th, the neighborhood got a sneak peek at the wonderful food that will be offered by Abi’s Restaurant when it fully opens in late August. The Restaurant Fan Club partnered with Abi’s to put on a fun summer event in her parking lot at 2828 Lyndale that included our first neighborhood fundraising bake sale.

Abi’s is located in the previous home of the Egg and I and will be open for dine-in services in late August. In the meantime, Abi has had her food truck in the parking lot during the day and early evenings. The truck was unavailable for our fun summer event, but Abi didn’t disappoint us. The grills were going and neighbors eagerly ordered soft tacos and pupusas. Abi Baires opened her first Abi’s Restaurant in 2015 on East Lake Street. Cooking has long been a central part of her Salvadoran family, and Abi was inspired by her grandma, mother, and Aunt Maria to become an entrepreneur, bringing Central American food to the Twin Cities. When Abi and her family moved to the United States, her mom was often too busy to cook. The task fell to Abi to keep the tradition of sharing meals alive, and she began cooking every day for her brothers. There were no YouTube videos for Abi to follow, so she became a recipe creator. Still today, Abi is constantly learning in the kitchen, inspired by her cooks, her family, and the community she happily continues to feed. All of the food is made from scratch, inspired by the authentic flavors of El Salvador and Mexico. Her most popular dish is pupusas, a handmade corn tortilla filled with cheese and veggies or meat toppings. The other crowd favorite is a Guanaca combo, which features a sampling of traditional Salvadoran foods:  plantain leaf chicken tamale, fried plantain, beans, and pupusa. 

Put Abi’s on your calendar for later this summer!

Dine-In Hours: To open in late August 
Reserve Food Truck:  abiscafe612@gmail.com
Address: 2828 Lyndale Avenue South

On Tuesday, July 13, LHENA submitted a community-informed response to the City regarding Randolph Street Realty Capital's development proposal at 2003 Aldrich Ave S. To review this proposal, see here.

To submit questions and/or feedback about this proposal, email Senior City Planner Peter Crandall at peter.crandall@minneapolismn.gov and Ward 10 Councilmember Lisa Bender at lisa.bender@minneapolismn.gov by Monday, July 19. You may also attend the City's Planning Commission public hearing on Monday, July 19 at 4:30pm -- the Commission will be reviewing this proposal. Sign up to speak at this hearing here.