BLOOMINGTON, Minnesota — When Julie Chen was growing up on the East Coast, her parents would take the family to Boston's Chinatown on the weekends.
Julie remembers a lady that would sell bubble waffles — a traditional street food that originated in Hong Kong but is now popular all over the world.
"There is a nice old lady that would sell... just bubble waffle, plain bubble waffle. Not the bubble waffles that you see today where it's wrapped in ice cream and all the fun toppings," Julie recalled. "So then we thought that maybe that would be a great concept to bring to Minnesota."
Julie and her husband, David Chen, opened Waffle Bar in Uptown in 2018. Waffle Bar offers both savory and sweet bubble waffles. They also offer a wide variety of specialty drinks and smoothies. They partner with Sebastian Joe's for their ice cream.
Since then, they've expanded almost every year. In 2019, they opened a shop in Lakeville. Then in 2020 and 2023, they launched food trucks. Now in 2024, they are preparing to open their third location in Bloomington.
Julie worked with an architect on the design and they hope to use it as a prototype for any future locations.
"It's been a lot of sleepless nights to make this happen and I'm very happy and proud," Julie said.
Both Julie and David come from a family of entrepreneurs. Julie's mom ran a jewelry kiosk in the Mall of America for over 15 years. David's dad was one of the early Subway franchisees in Minnesota. Waffle Bar's first shop is where David's mom's former coffee shop, I Am Coffee, used to be located.
"A lot of hard work coming from war-torn Cambodia in 1975 and then her family in 1987. It's been a struggle building the community and having support," David said. "Their hard work and their sacrifice showed us... what it takes."
Julie and David are parents to three boys. While they said it can be challenging running a business, they have a common goal.
"To have a loving family," David said. "We want to see our boys grow up and we want them to understand all of the hard work and sacrifices that we make to make it work."
On Thursday, Waffle Bar held a ribbon cutting ceremony with Bloomington city officials.
Waffle Bar's grand opening is Saturday, May 11, at 11 a.m. The first 50 guests will get a signature bubble waffle for free.
Waffle Bar is also open in Uptown and Lakeville.
Waffle Bar Bloomington
3810 W Old Shakopee Rd
Bloomington, MN 55431
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