About Vinai

Vinai the restaurant (pronounced VEE-nye) is named after the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp in Thailand— the place where Yia’s parents met and the place he was born. Ban Vinai, the refugee camp, served as a place of safety, reunification, and restoration.

Vinai, the restaurant, serves as a love letter from Yia to his parents. It serves as an homage to Hmong culture and history. And it serves as a place of restoration, a place where we invite you to celebrate, honor, and illuminate stories of your own through the universal language of food.

Throughout the process of designing, funding, and developing Vinai — as well as the process of opening and developing Union Hmong Kitchen — Yia has been steadfast in his vision:

“All roads lead to Vinai.”

We are honored and humbled to open Vinai after such a long and trying process. While we developed Vinai, we were furthering our experience within the Twin Cities restaurant scene. We built strong relationships with our community and we learned so much about how we want to share our food and our stories with all of you.

Our roots of the nomadic Hmong people, moving around and living off what was available to them has been true to our experience in opening and running restaurants.

The Team Behind Vinai

  • photo of chef yia vang smiling in an orange apron

    Yia Vang

    CHEF | OWNER

    Yia Vang is the Executive Chef and Owner at Vinai. Vang is a trained chef with extensive experience at top restaurants across the Twin Cities. In 2016, Vang started nationally acclaimed Union Hmong Kitchen, a restaurant that features Hmong culture, stories, rituals, foods and flavors that quickly became a community staple in Minnesota. In July 2024, Vang opened Vinai, to serve as a love letter to his parents. Vang spearheads the kitchen at the restaurant and crafts a menu that features classic Hmong dishes that entice people to grab a seat at the table and open their minds to new experiences. Vang has been featured in the New York Times, Nat Geographic, and Bon Appetit, as well as showcased on PBS, CNN, among others. Most recently, Vinai was featured on the New York Times 2024 50 Best Restaurant List and Eater’s 2024 Best New Restaurants in America.

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    Jonathan Janssen

    PARTNER | GENERAL MANAGER

    Jonathan Janssen is the Partner and General Manager at Vinai, in Minneapolis, MN.  Born in Anyang, South Korea, Janssen grew up in Gem Lake, MN. He attended the University of Minnesota where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Janssen has always had a deep-rooted passion for food and beverage, constantly excited by the opportunity to take his creations and turn them into memorable experiences. His journey in the hospitality industry began a decade ago, working his way up through various roles across the Twin Cities. Before joining the opening team at Vinai in July 2024 as a Partner and General Manager, Janssen served in various managerial roles across Minneapolis including Lat14 Asian Eatery, Norseman Distillery, and Brother Justus Whiskey Co. In his current role, Janssen oversees all service and business operations. He enjoys having the opportunity to promote Hmong culture and cuisine and influence the hospitality industry alongside his talented team and lifelong friends. 

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    Timmy Truong

    CHEF DE CUISINE

    Timmy Truong is the Chef de Cuisine at Vinai. Born and raised in the Twin Cities, Truong became fully immersed in the restaurant industry during his early childhood, lending a hand at his family’s small Vietnamese restaurant, Jasmine Deli, in South Minneapolis. In 2015, Truong attended Le Cordon Bleu Bakery School for Patisserie and Baking. Truong worked his way through various roles in Minneapolis during his culinary career. In 2019, he went on to open his first independent venture, SoulFu, a tie between Southeast Asian cuisine and Southern comfort soul food. In 2022, he opened his second independent concept, Chelas, serving up Vietnamese and Latin tapas before joining Chef Yia Vang as Sous Chef for Union Hmong Kitchen in 2023. Truong went on to join the opening team at Vinai as Chef de Cuisine in summer 2024. In his current role, Truong manages and oversees the day-to-day operations and enjoys working with the team to create new dishes and help develop them into better chefs in the kitchen, and better people outside of the restaurant.