“There’s Something For Everyone” at The Market at Malcolm Yards

On a sunny Monday morning, I set out to make the 40-minute trek through the north end of the University of Minnesota campus from my apartment to meet with the owner of the Market at Malcolm Yards in Prospect Park.

When I walked in, I was greeted with a warm smile by Patty Wall, one of the owners of Malcolm Yards. She immediately took me on a tour of the market, walking me through their ordering/payment process.

She offered for me to try a margarita that Malcolm Yards serves on tap, a brisket sandwich from Revival Smoked Meats and powdered donuts from Mr Paul’s Po’ Boys and Jams.

For a Monday afternoon, the Market was buzzing. A couple with their young child were sharing ice cream in a corner table while a business meeting was happening a couple of tables down, one man eating tacos from Martes Tacos while the other was eating sushi from Bagu, a Japanese restaurant.

We walked through the entire market as Patty told me more about how she and her husband bought the building, transforming it into a place for friends and family to gather for a good time while keeping the history of the building alive.

“We wanted to attract everybody in the Twin Cities,” Wall said. “We like young, old, all different cultures, races, and that’s what you see in here. It’s a good mix of the Twin Cities.”

Everything is geared towards making the experience for the guests as easy as possible, according to Wall. Upon entering, guests get a card that acts as the payment method. At each station, guests will tap their card and it will add to the total from the place they visited before. Instead of paying at each individual station, everything will be totaled for the guests to pay at the end.

Wall brought people together by networking and seeking the best of the best while maintaining a sense of representation of different cultures.

Malcolm Yards has been open for two and half years, and many of the current staff were recruited by Wall through networking and allowing the chefs who work there to see the venue before it opened.

When I was chatting with Wall, she gushed over her staff, repeatedly saying how incredible they are.

“I have a very strong and talented team, and the Market runs really well because of them,” Wall said. “They’re very passionate about making sure our guests have a good experience.”

The sentiment was returned when talking with Jeff Rogers, one of the owners of Wrecktangle Pizza.

“They’re the best; they’re always super helpful,” Rogers said. “If there’s anything that comes up, it’s always handled promptly, which is tough to say in this industry. We love them.”

Rogers was looking to expand the Wrecktangle brand when Wall approached him about having a place for them in the Market.

“We love it there,” Rogers said. “It made all the sense in the world to have a place there.”

Miranda G., the manager for DelSur Empanadas at the Market, said it’s been cool to work in the Market despite having to adapt to a smaller cooking area. She added she enjoys the opportunity to work with the other chefs with the Market hosts events.

“The Market is really good at keeping us all connected, “ Miranda said. “We’re all individual restaurants, but it’s nice when we work together.”

Miranda, who has been a chef for about 10 years, said she loves seeing all the guests that come into the Market and having the chance to connect people with food.

“The opportunity is huge, and especially with this place, the amount of people we serve on a daily basis is amazing,” Miranda said. “I love to cook and food connects anybody, so it’s cool to have all these different cultures all in one place where everyone can come together.”

Everybody has a different taste, but this place has something for everyone. So many options for people.

Before the Walls purchased the building that is the Market, it was going to be torn down. The building has been a staple in the Prospect Park community for decades, and this was something Wall wanted to maintain.

“It was risky, but I just knew in my gut that people would want to be here,” Wall said. “People love the 1800s building; it’s a little slice of history because I left all the graffiti and tried to keep as much of the building as we could.”

Looking ahead, Wall said she is looking forward to providing more opportunities for chefs in the Twin Cities and hosting more events for the community. She added this started as a passion project, and seeing where the Market has gone in its first couple of years has left her with a sense of accomplishment.

“This, to me, is creating an urban living room for the Twin Cities, and it’s been a really fun journey for me,” Wall said.

The Market hosts several events and can often be a meeting place for businesses. The Market hosts a HIIT class every Saturday while every Sunday is trivia night. Every Wednesday for the rest of March, the Market will host a comedy show.

Whether it’s family night and the kids are tagging along or you’re bringing a group of your college friends for a night out, the Market is a welcoming place that has something to satisfy everyone’s taste buds.

The Market at Malcolm Yards
501 30^th Ave. SE, Minneapolis
www.malcolmyards.market