Verit Muy got into a franchise food business in Mankato with an offhand remark to wife Krystallyn.
They were in a grocery story in the Twin Cities and inside there was a small franchise doughnut shop.
”I said to my wife, I wonder, how much money do you think they bring in and she said, ‘You should look it up.’ “
He did and then started looking at several franchise options he could open in Mankato, where he and his wife had moved from California in 2018 after he had finished eight years in the Marine Corps.
He settled on Bober Tea and Mochi Dough, which he opened in August at University Square, next to the Minnesota State University campus. They serve a variety of drinks and unique doughnuts.
”We have high-quality teas. Milk teas, non-dairy milk teas, fruit teas, smoothies, hot coffees, Vietnamese-based coffees,” he said.
”We use high-quality loose leaf teas that we brew every day. We don’t have pre-made teas or stuff that’s been stored for a long time.”
He said they have a house-made cheese cream that people can put on their drinks if they choose.
They serve a variety of doughnuts, including Japanese ones primarily made of rice flour but also some wheat flour and mochi doughnuts that are stir-fried in a brown sugar sauce.
”They’re made fresh daily, hand glazed, Muy said. “We have unique flavors in the glazes. We alternate the flavors each week but also have some regular favorites that we always keep.”
The Silos
Mike Brennan, of Brennan Companies, says the mild and snowless winter so far is good for anyone doing construction work.
”We don’t mind no snow. It would be nice if there was enough snow for businesses like Mount Kato, but for a lot of the rest of us, this is fine.”
Brennan’s crews are at work on the Silos, a $6.4 million apartment building between Mankato’s downtown and Old Town.
They have footings in and are beginning block work on the complex that will bring 26 one- and two-bedroom units.
”Some of the one-bedrooms have dens that make them bigger. There will be a rooftop patio area.” The rooftop will provide views of the nearby silo murals at Ardent Mills.
The first floor will include some commercial space and indoor parking for tenants.
They hope to have the units open Sept. 1.
Lewis Lofts starting
Brennan Companies is also about to start on Lewis Lofts, part of a yearslong effort to transform a shuttered Mankato streets department lot into new affordable housing.
This past fall Brennan finished on the Sinclair Flats apartment complex, a four-story building near the Cub Foods West grocery. It has 48 units of single-family housing, including several three-bedroom units. Ten of those are market-rate units priced at the going rate in Mankato’s relatively pricey rental market.
The other 38 are leased under rules for affordable housing, including that all tenants have household incomes at 60% or less of the area median. Rents for those qualifying tenants will be as low as $635 for a one-bedroom, $629 for two bedrooms and $948 for three. The higher end of the range for those apartments will be $850, $975 and $1,135, respectively.
Now Lewis lots will go up next door, with an official groundbreaking in February. Already Brennan has begun site preparation, fenced the area and brought in some equipment.