Farmers Kitchen + Bar Opens Downtown With a Burst of Locally Sourced Eats | Eater Twin Cities

"I saw the Minnesota Farmers Union’s first restaurant debut in the former Spoonriver space in the Mill District, bringing a new sit-down spot for hyperlocal meats, cheeses, and produce. Farmers Kitchen + Bar opens as a coffee bar with caffeinated concoctions such as a State Fair maple cream nitro starting at 7:30 a.m. daily, and serves a Midwestern-influenced lunch from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. under executive chef Kris Koch; the lunchtime menu of appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, and picnic platters features Minnesotan dishes like walleye “tots,” bison wild rice meatballs, fried cheese curds, and a wild rice Waldorf salad that will change with the seasons, while a supper menu is still pending. The setup also includes a market selling seasonal produce, locally sourced eggs, meats, cheeses, bottled jams, and maple syrup, plus a pantry of rotating curated shelf-stable items, and the site currently lists 27 farmers and friends as part of the organization’s mission to “protect and enhance quality of life for farmers, ranchers, and rural residents alike.”" - Alicia Banaszewski