To open Vinai, Yia Vang first had to give up on the dream

“If we would have opened Vinai four years ago, when we were planning on it, I don’t think it would be here right now,” said Vinai’s chef/owner Yia Vang.

A lot has happened in the years since Vang shared plans to create a restaurant that honored his parents, their journey through Ban Vinai Refugee Camp in Thailand and into the country that gave their son these culinary opportunities. There was a pandemic, civil uprising, economic extremes, hope, loss and major health concerns.

Eight months before Vinai’s opening, Vang was undergoing several operations on an infection in his leg that could have turned deadly. “If it had gotten into my blood or bones. ...” He didn’t finish the sentence. As someone who values hard work and determination, the chef realized he had to dig much deeper within himself to find what he was capable of.

In his darkest days, he wondered what could possibly come next. He remembered, “My mom would say, ‘Your dad and I have been through a lot. We know you can do this.’”

But in a hospital room, time becomes elastic between exams and impossible conversations. Sleep is elusive and the beeping is incessant. “I felt ashamed. The whole side of my leg was gone,” said Vang. Words like PICC line, rehab and amputation hung in the air alongside permits, payroll and payments.

He phoned his friend, Alma chef/owner Alex Roberts, and confessed a dark secret: He might have to give up the dream he’d set out to build.

He remembered Roberts saying, “Giving up doesn’t mean that you quit. Giving up means you surrender. It’s the way the wind blows. You surrender to it and that’s OK.”

Of course, Vang didn’t quit. He surrendered and allowed the dream to change shape, ever so slightly. He would walk into the kitchen with a limp. He would bargain with his body to take rest breaks. And then he would get up and keep going. Vinai opened to full reservations this summer. Minneapolis diners embraced it for all it is: a feast best enjoyed with friends, one filled with funky fish sauces, long-stewed meats, sticky rice, fresh herbs and revelatory flavors brought together by a Midwestern Hmong kid. Local and national accolades started rolling in, including being named one of the Minnesota Star Tribune’s 2024 Restaurants of the Year.

“When I say that this restaurant is a love letter to my parents, it’s that I can’t begin to express what they’ve done and what it means to me in a simple conversation,” said Vang. “And as much as our parents built our family and community, we can build more.”

His goal is building the community of his staff, the neighborhood he shares with other restaurant owners — and the larger dining public. “The goal is to build great community. Great food is the byproduct of it. But food doesn’t change people’s hearts. Other people do.” That is Vang’s true passion, and he’s grateful to have gone through the hardship to better accept and share this success.

On a recent evening, a Hmong elder dined at Vinai. He was introduced to Vang after the meal as one of the two men who founded Ban Vinai, the refugee camp where his family lived before coming to America. Vang said, “Vinai means virtue, integrity, honor — a place where people who came through could get their dignity back.”

Before leaving, the man shook Vang’s hand and said, “It is good with my old eyes that I can see that our sons and daughters are doing good in this world.”

Vinai, 1300 NE. 2nd St., Mpls., vinaimn.com. Open Tue.-Thu. 5-10 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 5-11 p.m.