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When family-run Keefer Court Bakery & Cafe closed last December, after a nearly 40-year run, it was the end of an era in Minneapolis’s Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. Sunny and Paulina Kwan opened the bakery in 1983; their daughter, Michelle, took it over in 2017. Across four decades, Keefer Court supplied neighbors and U of M students with handmade mooncakes and egg tarts, pillowy steamed buns, and comforting bowls of congee.
But the bakery announced this week that it will reopen under new owners at Eden Prairie’s super-popular Asia Mall, as Sahan Journal first reported. Michael Bui, Mai Bui, and Peter Do, who own Pho Mai, a Vietnamese, pho-focused restaurant with locations in Dinkytown and Asia Mall, purchased the bakery. The new Keefer Court will offer some of the bakery’s well-loved baked goods, but it’ll have a French theme and add Vietnamese desserts. Michael Bui told Sahan that a bakery seemed to be the key missing element at Asia Mall, which has a number of restaurants, a bubble tea shop, and a vast grocery store with a fresh seafood market. Look for an opening in the next six months or so.
El Sazon expands from its Eagan gas station home base to Tangletown
El Sazon, a Mexican restaurant tucked inside an Eagan gas station that’s gained a certain level of local fame for its remarkable tacos, salsa verde-smothered enchiladas, and five-course dinner series, has announced it has a new Tangletown location planned for this year. Owners Karen and Cristian De Leon told the Star Tribune that the new spot, Sazon Cocina & Tragos, will have the staple tacos and burritos from the Eagan menu, but will offer plated dishes for dinner. And don’t worry, the gas station location isn’t closing. Expect a late summer 2023 opening.
Pizza farm season kicks off
Pizza farms might be the Midwest’s most low-key culinary treasure. Farms across southern Minnesota and Wisconsin are readying for the summer season — some, like Pleasant Grove and the Stone Barn, have already kicked things off. Though most Twin Citians head north for summer weekend escapes, it’s worth considering a venture through the Driftless Area for a wood-fired pizza picnic at one of these idyllic farms. Many queue up live music performances for weekends. Keep an eye out for a 2023 guide to pizza farms next week.
