WELCOME
TO HILLTRIBE.
Hilltribe is the organization for Twin Cities restaurants Union Hmong Kitchen, Vinai, and Hilltribe founded by Chef Yia Vang. We strive to feature Hmong culture, stories, traditions, foods and flavors. We marry local traditions with those from back home in South and Eastern Asia to bring Hmong flavors to American palates. We believe that every dish has a narrative and we look forward to sharing ours with you, through our food. Food + People = Community.
Traditionally, Hill Tribe is referenced as two words describing the mountain people in the Northern region of Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. These people, who lived in the mountains and not in the fertile soils of the lowlands, were shunned. They were considered “less than” and seen as dirty and unintelligent. In spite of this prejudice, these people learned to thrive in the region – they went on to become some of the greatest farmers and cultivators.
We are these people. The mountain people. The Hmong people.
When we first began working in the Hilltribe space here at 901 W. Lake Street, we knew we wanted to create a place that could match our drive and our imagination without bounds. As the home for our commissary kitchen, the Hilltribe space is the backbone to all of our culinary endeavors. It’s where we train our cooks to become chefs, it’s where we dream up new menus and craft those ideas into reality. It’s our home base.
While Hilltribe is home, home is a changing and growing place. That’s why we’ve created Hilltribe to be a blank canvas of sorts – a place that can hold concepts and experimentation. We are constantly working, developing and executing new ideas and Hilltribe is the vessel. It is the launch pad for which dreamers like us can reignite their ideas into reality. Now, here in the Twin Cities, Hilltribe comprises many people of different backgrounds all Moving Forward Together.
Every few months, we plan to reinvent the Hilltribe restaurant concept into something new. We first opened the space to the community with our Slurp Pop Up Noodle Shop concept, bringing warm excitement into an otherwise dreary time of year. Next, we will everyone along to enjoy Hmong American comfort food classics, and share another piece of the Hilltribe culture with the community. In all of the moments in between, we will continue to create special meals, host meaningful events, and extend the invitation to share the table with us.
HILLTRIBE | THE BUILDING
Hilltribe as an organization believes in the foundational values that come from Moving Forward Together. For us, success as an organization means we must continue to move forward in our endeavors together. Our standards are set upon the notion that our love for adventure will always overcome our fear of the unknown.