$11M Plaza de Sol development will bring food hall, small business incubator to St. Paul’s East Side

Payne Avenue on St. Paul’s East Side is having a moment, and boosters are hoping that a new small business incubator run by the Latino Economic Development Council will launch even more redevelopment.

Called Plaza de Sol, the old furniture store now will house a commercial kitchen, food hall, event center and LEDC’s offices after $11 million in renovations.

The complex venture, set to open in December, is a first for the East Side of St. Paul.

On Tuesday, the LEDC began the last phase of development, kicking off a final fundraising drive with a $20,000 grant from Alerus Financial.

“This is my baby. We are excited,” said Alma Flores, executive director of LEDC.

The commercial kitchen and most services are set to open in December or January, and that can’t come soon enough for Teresa and Steven Henke.

For three years, the couple has used a rented kitchen they have long outgrown to make their Deli Colombia meat- and cheese-stuffed corn cakes at Twin Cities festivals.

“Right now, we are selling more than we can produce,” Steven Henke said.

By renting their own food stall and having 24-hour access to the building’s commercial kitchens, the Henkes believe they can hire four workers, expand into frozen-food aisles at groceries and participate in more festivals.

“It’s definitely going to make it a lot easier for us to get to that point of growth,” Steven Henke said. “And you know, having our product, a Latino product, in a Latino Plaza is going to go really well for us.”

Five years ago, LEDC bought the building at 990 Payne Av. out of foreclosure.

The nonprofit secured $5 million in loans from Minnesota’s economic development arm, a $1 million grant from Congress and $2 million in loans from Alerus.

Fellow nonprofits Propel, the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation and LISC Twin Cities, plus the city of St. Paul, also contributed, among others.

LEDC hired contractor Rise Collaborative Development and architects Lunning Wende Associates and began construction four months ago. On Tuesday, a team of 10 pored over blueprints and wrestled decisions on final office construction.

When done, the final space will feature a large food hall with central seating, five restaurants, three full kitchens, an event center plus a separate 24-hour commissary kitchen for caterers, bakers, food truck owners and festival vendors, said Flores and Rise founder Jillian Kalogerson while giving a recent tour.

So far, 50 entrepreneurs have contacted LEDC about space.

St. Paul has lots of Latin food truck owners and caterers clamoring for commercial food-prep space that now doesn’t exist nearby, officials said. Plus, Flores said, it can house events from weddings to art fairs, comedy nights and conferences.

“We think this will help the whole ecosystem of small businesses flourish, with opportunities,“ Flores said.

If successful, the Plaza de Sol could be the latest shot in the arm for St. Paul’s East Side, which over four decades lost thousands of factory jobs as Whirlpool, Stroh Brewery Co., Cannon Conveyor and W.B. Martin Lumber Co. shut their doors.

For a while, the area became known for the problematic Payne Reliever bar and poverty issues.

But of late, hair salons, florists, restaurants and other businesses like Brunson’s Pub, Tongue in Cheek and Bymore Supermercado have moved in and become destinations like the well loved Morelli’s market has been.

“Payne Avenue has had a little bit of a revival since your Payne Reliever Days,” said Paris Dunning, executive director of the East Side Area Business Association. And in the last 15 years, “the Latino community has really found their stride on the East Side, and that’s created an opportunity.”

Dunning said LEDC is smart to pack so many businesses into one large building.

“That is what’s extraordinary about this development on Payne Avenue. The event space is the player. And the commercial kitchen is the player. That could really be the game changer,” Dunning said.

LEDC already has helped Luis Cepeda and the Gorditas El Durango restaurant he manages.

The nonprofit put him in classes, showed him how to register the business with the state, pay taxes and weather the pandemic. It temporarily moved Gorditas from Minneapolis into the Plaza del Sol building in St. Paul to help it get on its feet.

The restaurant moved down the block during construction but hopes to move back when Plaza de Sol opens.

Cepeda thinks the redevelopment will benefit the neighborhood and other businesses like his own.

”We think that it’s going to be good for us to come back to Plaza del Sol and be in there with everything that they are doing," said Cepeda, who has 12 employees. “I think a lot of people want to come to see this new concept.”