Food Building Tours

Open tours Mondays, 10:00am – Noon

The Food Building, located at 1401 Marshall Street NE in Northeast, started as a conversation about pigs.

Kieran Folliard and Mike Phillips were discussing the absurdity of shipping Minnesota pigs to California for processing and then shipping the salumi back to Minnesota to sell. What if salumi made from Minnesota pigs was made in Minnesota? So they found a building on a desirable corner in the working heart of Northeast Minneapolis, along the Mississippi. The building had more space than Mike needed to make delicious salumi, so Kieran decided to create a space where several expert makers could craft their food.

Enter cheesemaker Rueben Nilsson. Rueben is fired up about making cheese using milk from Minnesota grass-fed cows. So with Kieran’s help, Mike created Red Table Meat Co. and Rueben created The Lone Grazer Creamery. These brands are connected by a “Taste of Place.” Simply put, Minnesota’s distinct seasons and savory characters combine to make one-of-a-kind foods. Their motto is “Farmer Near, Made Here.” Everyone is invited to come see the process – “it’s like a brewery tour, only with food.”

A hopeful addition to Mike and Rueben is baker Steven Horton (former Rustica owner), who is working with the City of Minneapolis to get approval to start a small scale flour mill (using stone for grinding, not steel rollers).

Read more about Steve Horton and his plans on MPR News...