New details are emerging about the food hall slated to open this spring in Burnsville Center. Ate Ate Ate will anchor the mall’s redeveloped north section, in the space once occupied by a Gordmans Department store. Here’s what we know.
8 things to know about the new food hall coming to Burnsville
Construction has started on Ate Ate Ate, which will open in Burnsville Center this spring.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 14, 2024 at 2:32AM
1. It’s huge. At more than 13,000 square feet, the food hall will have nine vendors, a bar and beer wall, and an event space.
2. The name brings good luck. In Chinese numerology, the number eight brings good fortune. Triple that, and you get 888, aka, Ate Ate Ate.
3. The vendors will offer international flavors. A list of vendors teased last year had promised everything from a Brazilian steakhouse to Korean fried chicken. Seven of the nine spots were previously announced, but we’re told the list has “evolved” and no names are being released yet. One space is still available to rent.
4. It’s curated by a celebrity chef. Akhtar Nawab, a New York-based restaurateur and the founding partner of Hospitality HQ, a food hall management company, is a regular judge on “Beat Bobby Flay,” has appeared on “Iron Chef America” and is the author of “Good for You: Bold Flavors With Benefits.” He is a partner in restaurants in Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
5. An Asian grocery store is opening, too. A 50,000-square-foot Asian grocery store called Enson Market, a separate entity, will also open this spring in the former Gordmans space.
6. It’s all part of a big Burnsville Center makeover. The aging mall was acquired in 2022 by the Chicago-based Windfall Group, in partnership with Pacifica Burnsville. They have plans to revitalize the whole place.
7. The groups behind the food hall and the mall’s revitalization are minority-owned. “The diversity of these teams allows the project to integrate various perspectives from a variety of cultural backgrounds on what the food hall will offer and what will resonate with the area’s changing population,” said a news release about the new food hall.
8. A Filipino restaurant is coming to the food court, too. Manila Sizzling Plate will open this spring in the mall’s food court (separate from the food hall). The Filipino eatery was last seen on University Avenue in St. Paul, and closed last fall. Expect to find popular dishes like pork sisig, lumpia and lechon.
Follow the progress at ateateatemn.com.
Deep-fried puffy tacos, dough ‘knots’ and s’mores ice cream sandwiches scored high on our list.
