The Mill City Times Interview: Golnaz Yamoutpour, Founder, Eat Drink Dish MPLS®

Article by Becky Fillinger

Golnaz YamoutpourDo you like curated menu recommendations?  Want to also help our restaurants survive?  Meet Golnaz Yamoutpour, founder of Eat Drink Dish MPLS®, who is a kindred spirit.  We talked to Golnaz about her fascinating lifelong connection to food and entrepreneurial spirit that is helping foodies and making meaningful change for our local eateries. 

Q:  Please tell us about your earliest food memory. 

A:  My earliest food memory is probably watching my mom cook Persian food at home. She cooked from scratch almost every day, and as the youngest in my family, I was always with my mom. So I'd watch and sometimes help her make food.

Q:  Your parents emigrated from Iran in 1990.  They became restaurant owners - was your family in the food business in Iran?

A:  That’s right - My family immigrated to the United States from Iran, when I was about 3 years old, and chose to live in Minnesota since we had family living here. My parents worked at corporate jobs back in Iran, so the food business was new to them. They bought a Cousins Subs franchise around the mid-90's in downtown Minneapolis and I started working at 8 years old as a cashier. I would stand on a plastic milk crate and take customer orders, even during the busy lunch rush hours! I loved the idea of working when I was a kid and enjoyed my adventures roaming around the skyways in downtown Minneapolis. Even today, I know the skyway system like the back of my hand!

Q:  When did you become a US citizen?  

A:  I became a US Citizen at 17 years old! So it took us almost 15 years to gain citizenship.

Q:  Why did you start Eat Drink Dish MPLS®?

A:  The main purpose of starting Eat Drink Dish MPLS® was to support local businesses, and to create a voice for myself in a state where I never really felt like I fit in. I started the digital brand while I was pursuing my MBA career, and working full-time. So it was also a great way to apply what I was learning in business school to actual real life practice. I chose the topic of food and restaurants because, at that point in my life, I had a strong background in the food industry. From helping my parents at our family-owned restaurant for most of my childhood, waitressing for 5 years at a couple restaurants, to studying Nutrition at the University of Minnesota. It was/is also part of my lifestyle - I love to travel with my palate and I love to hear why people start their own business. Eat Drink Dish Mpls became a stepping stone into owning my own business as a Brand and Marketing Consultant, where I get to help entrepreneurs and businesses better understand their why so I can show them their how.

Q:  I have to ask, why did you feel that you never fit in?

A:  Living in between two cultures, American and Persian, was very confusing for me as a child growing up. I didn't have the same rules, food, or customs as most of my friends did so that immediately set me apart socially. Then, add in that you weren't born in the US, have an unusual name, have strong Middle-Eastern features, and live in a predominantly white community, and you're set as always trying to fit in. Eat Drink Dish Mpls allowed me to stop trying to fit in by enabling me to contribute and share my voice through food.

Q:  Can you tell us more about Eddy's Yum Club?

A:  Eddy's Yum Club is our premium membership program under our new Curated Twin Cities Food and Restaurant Guide, called Eddy. On November 10, 2020, we launched our very first digital food guide at www.eatswitheddy.com where you can access and search for our curated recommended restaurants by appetite. We like to keep our recommendations rotating and seasonal because we want to ease the decision-making process when trying to figure out where to eat. So, each appetite category will have anywhere between 5-15 recommendations along with an accompanying "Signature Yum," which is our personal recommended dish for each restaurant. No rants, ratings or reviews - just great food.

Eddy is free to join, but if you're a self-proclaimed Foodie and want to help give back to the restaurant community, you can join Eddy's Yum Club for only $48 per year ($4/month)! The membership includes lots of great perks like exclusive giveaways, discounts, guides, and a section where you can use Eddy as your own personal concierge service twice a year. Lastly, 3% of each Eddy's Yum Club membership fee is donated to our non-profit partner, The North Stands.

A pie from Parkway PizzaFor restaurants, Eddy's Yum Club is a great way to get in front of one of the largest digital food audiences in the Twin Cities. There are multiple ways to partner up with us through our Eddy's Yum Club Goodies, High Five Guides, and Eddy's Recommendations. We are working with a few local restaurants right now who are offering up amazing exclusive promotions and giveaways on Eddy's Yum Club, like Parkway Pizza and Waffle Bar. Under this offering, you can take $8 off any Parkway Pizza online order up to 8 times through March 1, 2021.

Later this spring, we plan on rolling out our official Eddy advertising and partnership packages.

Q:  What, in your opinion, are steps that we can take to help our local restaurants survive?

A:  Joining Eddy's Yum Club is a great way to start helping local restaurants survive during these times. Not only is 3% of the membership fee donated directly to a local non-profit, helping primarily BIPOC-owned restaurants, the rest of the funds go to help us keep creating quality content and experiences that benefit everyone; including the restaurant community (keep an eye out for upcoming virtual events!). We are a very small team, self-funded, and truly do this out of passion and for the love of the creative people behind our vibrant food scene.

Other ways to help local restaurants are to purchase gift cards, order food for pickup versus delivery, share your food pics on Instagram and tag the restaurants so they can repost them on their page (with photo credit, of course). While you're at it, be sure to tag us (@eatdrinkdishmpls, #eatdrinkdishmpls), for a chance to be reposted on our page where we share the love of food with over 70,000 of our awesome followers!

Q:  Do you have a favorite Minneapolis restaurant?

A:  I always get asked this question! I don't really have a favorite restaurant, and I've gone to so many restaurants that I usually find something to love about each one. However, I am a lover of sushi and true comfort food for me is Persian food. There's only one place in the Twin Cities that offers up authentic Persian food close enough to what my mom made growing up, Caspian Bistro.

Q:  How can we follow your news?

A:  Keep up with us and what's hot in the local food scene by following us on Instagram @eatdrinkdishmpls and @eatswitheddy. Also, sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Eddible," where we dish out what's new, what's still happening, and what's coming soon in the Twin Cities!