

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chanti Miller. Her team shares their story with us below:
Mosaic is a new event venue opening in the downtown Minneapolis neighborhood of Elliot Park on January 1, 2023. The driving force behind this new venue is to disrupt a marketplace that does not always accommodate cultures and at times charges a premium in order for the client to want to represent themselves authentically with their own traditions and food choices. The founding team consisting of Chanti Miller, David O’Neil, and Phuong O’Neil all have their personal reasons that drove them to come together in order to create an equitable space that gives all a sense of belonging. When David and Phuong were planning their wedding more than 10 years ago, there were many options of venues that they could rent but none of them would allow them to properly merge their two cultures. In the end, they were forced to have two ceremonies. One ceremony was dedicated to Phuong’s Vietnamese culture and was held in the backyard of a family member’s home in order to maintain all important traditions and there was a western ceremony held later in the day at a venue downtown. The disappointment in not being able to properly bring their families together to share their cultures has never gone away and led to the idea of Mosaic being formed. When it came time to seek out a partner to bring the vision to life, Chanti’s passion for breaking down walls and instilling a sense of belonging made her the perfect compliment to the team, being heavily involved in and serving the community around her has always been a personal driving force for Chanti and she has held DEI leadership roles in local volunteer organizations.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
When you set out to do something different, challenges often come from unexpected avenues. Commercial development is always complicated and favors the group with deep pockets but as challenging as construction and supply chain issues are, they were expected. We have found that licensing can be an issue due to antiquated wording still on the books and a lack of updated regulations to support what is already being done with event venues. One other challenge our model brings, we would have a good revenue source by selling ‘preferred catering’ partnerships. This is typically done and will help with start up capital needs. By forgoing that to maintain our open catering model, finding other capital sources are critical for our success.
We’ve been impressed with Mosaic Venue, 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?
Mosaic Meaning: a whole unit composed of a combination of diverse elements. When the Mosaic team sat down and looked at this meaning they realized that something was missing in the event space of Minnesota; a space where you could authentically come together to celebrate this union of parts. Being a minority and veteran-owned business, representation and a sense of belonging are two things that matter most to us. Whether it is a wedding or other event, we want all clients to feel comfortable showing up and displaying what makes them so unique. The main way we have found to do this is to remove barriers around the vendors our clients can choose, in particular caterers. At any event, the people you meet and the food you eat are two of the main things that you walk away remembering. Food and sharing of meals are central to each of our individual cultures and it is important to our team that everyone can represent their authentic selves both in personality and culture.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
Our favorite part about Minneapolis would be the people who live in the city that are always on the search for a new experience. This drives innovation from entrepreneurs and forces the creativity that makes it an exciting place to live.
Our least favorite part about Minneapolis is that at times bureaucracy gets in the way of change.
Contact Info:
- Website: mosaicmn.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mosaicvenuemn/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083368404300
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@mosaic.mn?lang=en
Image Credits
Clarke Sanders – Clarke Creates LLC