How our Momos made it to Minnesota!
Bringing the momo-movement to Minneapolis
Hey there!
We’re Subash and Lex, best friends and co-owners of Mr. Momo, a Nepali dumpling company. Subash grew up in Nepal where momos – delicious, comforting, and hand-folded dumplings – were a huge part of his life. When he moved to the U.S. in 2007, it wasn’t just the taste of those delicious dumplings he missed, it was the joy filled moments surrounding them as well… the momo-ments! So Subash started a food truck with the dream to share these momo-ments. Together, we’ve turned that dream into a full-scale dumpling manufacturing company now based in Minneapolis Minnesota.
Lex and Subash
How it all started
Our first food truck!
In 2019, we began selling momos from a food truck at local markets and events in Phoenix Arizona. The response was incredible! People loved them so much that we decided to open our own restaurant. We officially opened in January of 2020, and the success from our food truck followed us. We had hour-long wait times on the weekends, and we even won awards like “Best Dumplings” and “Best New Chef” all within our first six weeks of opening! Then you might be able to guess what happened next…
Disaster strikes… a lot
aftermath of the fire at our restaurant
Just a few months after opening, the world shut down due to COVID-19. We didn’t give up. Farmers markets were still open, so we sold our momos there, and the momo movement began to grow again.
Then, just as the world was reopening, our restaurant caught fire in 2021 due to static electricity.
We persevered and rebuilt. This time we tried an express-kitchen style restaurant. But it was a massive failure, so we returned to farmers markets where we’d seen the most success. Around this time, we also received a legal threat over our name. That’s when we rebranded to Mr. Momo!
Our Super Bowl momo-ment… literally
In 2023, we became the first Nepali food vendor at the Super Bowl! It was amazing opportunity! But we had one big problem: we were hand-rolling only about 90 dumplings an hour. That wouldn’t cut it.
So, instead of putting our savings toward a house like “responsible adults,” we invested in a dumpling machine that produces 6,000 dumplings an hour. With this machine, we also started packaging dumplings for online sales.
The Super Bowl was a huge success and helped us gain a lot of traction. This drew the attention of an investor in Minnesota who wanted to help us build a state-of-the-art dumpling factory in Minneapolis.
Subash at the 2023 Super Bowl Experience
The move to Minnesota
Lex had never even set foot in Minnesota, but we packed up our belongings, drove the food truck from Phoenix to Minneapolis, and took the leap.
Today, our factory on Lake Street in the Longfellow neighborhood is up and running. We’ve already met so many wonderful people in the local food scene, and you can now find Mr. Momo on menus across the Twin Cities (check the “Find Us” tab on our website). We also offer local pickup for online orders.
We’re thrilled to bring the momo-movement to Minneapolis and can’t wait to keep sharing the “happiest food on earth” with all of you!
Subash and Lex preparing for a demonstration at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair
