Kim’s, the restaurant in Minneapolis from award-winning chef Ann Kim, will close at the end of the month. Kim’s restaurant group announced the closure of the Korean-American eatery in Uptown.
Award-winning chef Ann Kim to close Kim’s in Minneapolis
The restaurant opened in the fall of 2023 with rave reviews and a host of challenges.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
August 23, 2024 at 1:11AM
“Vestalia Hospitality today announced it will close Kim’s effective August 30, 2024, due to ongoing financial losses,” the statement reads.
The release also states that reservations and gift cards will be honored through the last day of service. After the closing, gift cards will be redeemable at Kim’s other restaurants — Pizzeria Lola, Hello Pizza and Young Joni. Kim declined further comment.
The restaurant from the 2019 James Beard Award winner (Best Chef: Midwest) opened as Sooki & Mimi in 2021 in the former Lucia’s space (1432 W. 31st. St., Mpls.) with a Mexican-Korean tasting menu billed as a “celebration of vegetables and nixtamal” that would continue to evolve. Last fall, Kim ended Sooki & Mimi’s run, and after a brief refresh reopened the restaurant as Kim’s with a menu built from the chef’s Korean-American history. It opened to rave reviews. Bronto Bar, Kim’s subterranean cocktail lounge, also closed this summer, along with a decision to end a briefly available lunch service.
Both iterations of Kim’s restaurant had its share of challenges. Sooki & Mimi’s much-anticipated opening was delayed because of the pandemic. This spring, employees of Kim’s petitioned to unionize and, in late June, 65% of workers voted in favor with the next step being to negotiate a contract, according to Unite Here Local 17 representing the group. In early June, the restaurant was vandalized.
Unite Here released a statement following the announcement that Kim’s would close. “Today, we were informed Vestalia Hospitality will close Kim’s next week. We are heartbroken because we care about our neighborhood, our customers, and each other. We are proud of the work we did every day to build the restaurant,” the statement read.
Correction: A previous version of this story had an incorrect timeline for Kim’s.
The U.S. Department of Labor found the Argentine pizza and empanada restaurant committed several violations across its four locations, including depriving workers of overtime pay and tips, illegally firing an employee and allowing a 15-year-old to work beyond permitted hours.
