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Business owners connected to the Asia Mall in Eden Prairie have announced the purchase of another large building where they hope to replicate their successful concept.
Asia Village will be located at 301 Northtown Drive N.E. The building is connected to the Northtown Mall in Blaine. The 100,000-square-foot building was purchased by Michael Bui, owner of Pho Mai and the recently reopened Keefer Court Asian bakery.
“It’s based off the success of Asia Mall; we have several restaurants at Asia Mall and people have accepted them so we wanted to bring them to the northern suburbs,” Bui said.
The building will house a 40,000-square-foot Asian grocery store along with several dining and retail spots.
The deal was brokered by the Wyn Group owned by Marshall Nguyen, who has been involved in the purchase of the Asia Mall building, the former Sears building in St. Paul, and the Burnsville Center, where an Asian-themed food hall, Ate Ate Ate, is scheduled to open in the coming months.
The Blaine building is currently occupied by a Becker Furniture Outlet. Company representatives did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday morning..
Bui told Sahan Journal the building’s sale will close sometime in August and they already have some tenants but additional leasing opportunities will be open soon.
He said he hopes to create an “Asian dining destination” with “all-you-can-eat sushi and hot pot” already announced.
“Our goal is to bring the best dining operators,” Bui said.
Blaine Mayor Tim Sanders along with some city council members were present for the Wednesday morning announcement of Asia Village.
Sanders said he, along with others present, were “ecstatic” about the announcement and called it a destination in Blaine as well as an important step for the revitalization of the Northtown Mall.
“You’re going to inspire others to invest in this part of the city,” Sanders said to Bui.
Asia Village will be owned by Bui and other unnamed owners of Asia Mall.
The Eden Prairie location has been open since late 2022, with Bui’s renovated iteration of Keefer Court being the building’s latest addition.
Asia Mall is a two-story mall with around 116,000 square feet that includes Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean businesses.
One thing Bui said that will make the newly announced Asia Village easier to visit will be its parking.
“(The) biggest problem we have at Asia Mall is parking. Here we have over 1,500 parking spots,” Bui said. “We’re excited. I think there’s nothing else like it around here.”
Bui said once the building’s purchase is finalized, renovations should take anywhere from 14 to 16 months.
He’s aiming for a late 2025 or early 2026 opening.
Editor’s note: This story was originally published on May 1 in the Sahan Journal.
It was written by Alfonzo Galvan, a reporter for Sahan Journal, covering work, labor, small business, and entrepreneurship.
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