Today we’d like to introduce you to Sonam Chodon.
Hi Sonam, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My brother, my husband, and I started a food pop-up business back in 2018 in a small farmers’ market. Not knowing much about the food business, we were not sure how the business would turn out. We all had our own full-time job as this was a size gig. Fortunately, we were overwhelmed and became very optimistic when people responded very positively to our food. Even though it was a small market, the foot traffic was heavy. We did more farmers’ markets and more bigger events coming each year. After five years, we realized we needed to invest in a truck or trailer, so we could do a wider variety of events and reach a larger crowd of people. While we were getting our truck built, we built our own small trailer for the business with a smaller investment. With the truck, trailer, and pop-up, we were able to do multiple events on the same day. After a year or two, we realized a strong need for our own brick-and-mortar to have our own kitchen and space to park our truck and trailer. We started looking for a restaurant on sale. Our search was limited because it was important for us to have a restaurant closer to home, so we do not have to waste too much time driving back and forth. I found a restaurant that had everything we needed; however, before we could even put in an offer, it was taken by someone else. That was very disappointing; however, we continued our search. After about 7 months, we received a call from our realtor to let us know that the restaurant had become available on the market again. Without any hesitation, i asked to go ahead and put the offer in, then the rest is history. This is our second year running the restaurant, and we have been grateful to be doing okay in this tough food business. Another great opportunity appeared for us; we will be featured in a new Asian food hall opening at Burnsville Center this summer. That will be our second permanent location, we are very excited and looking forward to it.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being a business owner, since everything is on you, you are always working. I also raise three beautiful kids, whom I devote all my time to when I am not working. Being a mom, I realized the importance of balancing my time, so I give enough time to our business and to my kids so they both grow successfully.
We’ve been impressed with Amazing Momo, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We offer a variety of Tibetan dumplings, which we call “MoMo” and other asian foods. You will get a taste of home-cooked meals as we take pride in serving what we would eat at home, which are healthier ingredients without any additives.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
When we first opened the restaurant, as we expected, it would take a while for people to come in and try our food. People living around the restaurant became curious and started coming in to try our food. They started posting our business and writing great reviews on the neighborhood website, and more people started to come.
Pricing:
- $10-$20
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.amazingmomo.com
