A young couple with a big dream has opened what they say is the Twin Cities’ first Karenni grocery.
Htay Reh, 24, and his wife, Ranjana Baraliy Meh, 23, held a grand opening for the Karenni Grocery Store on Saturday in a Maplewood strip mall.
Their 20,000-square-foot store is stocked with fresh fruit, Southeast Asian ingredients and a meat case that includes wild boar. The store also has shelves of brightly dyed Karen and Karenni clothing.
Since the store opened, Htay Reh has had to explain to several customers that the Karenni, sometimes known as the “Red Karen” have a distinct culture from other Karen groups. All come from Myanmar.
“It’s a similar name but we have our own language, traditions and food,” he said.
The more widely known Karen community began settling in Minnesota in the early 2000s after coming to the state as refugees, according to the Karen Organization of Minnesota website.
Along with the Karen and Karenni, Minnesota is also home to a third ethnic group from Myanmar called the Mon.
The Karen Organization of Minnesota estimates that there are 20,000 Karen, 2,000 Karenni, and 1,000 Mon people in the state, according to their website. But other estimates put the Karenni population at double that.
Since their arrival, Karen entrepreneurs have opened more than two dozen businesses, according to the Karen Organization of Minnesota. But Htay Reh and his wife said their Maplewood grocery is only the second Karenni market they know of in Minnesota.
Htay Reh was born in Thailand and came to the United States as a refugee in 2009. Growing up in Kansas, he said it was difficult to find Karenni products.
“Sometimes we’d get lucky and one of the Karen stores might have a few [Karenni] items for us but it was super hard,” Htay Reh said.
Htay Reh met Baraliy Meh, who is Nepali, in high school. They moved to Minnesota, which has become a hub for Karenni refugees, two years ago.
The two started a cleaning service to save money for the grocery. They worked day jobs and took cleaning gigs at night to launch the store, which is entirely self-funded.
“I just had the fire in me that it’s not only for me, but also for the community around me,” Baraliy Meh said.
“We worked really hard to get to this point, we basically just saved every penny that we earned to do something that we were passionate about,” Htay Reh said.
The seasoning section of the store has also been a big selling point for customers, according to Htay Reh. He said the store provides a variety of different blend versions for popular seasonings.
“Some spices are used by both Karen and Karenni people but they like different versions,” Reh said. “One group might buy the pork flavor, the other comes in and buys the chicken because our recipes are different.”
Betel nuts and leaves are also popular, Htay Reh said.
Even though the store is Karenni-owned, Htay Reh said he’s been stocking up on products for other groups to expand his clientele.
Recently, the store even offered wild boar meat.
Htay Reh said the majority of the store’s products are either local or shipped in from California and Thailand but they’re still planning on expanding their selections based on customer demand.
Baraliy Meh has made it a point to ask every customer whether they found what they were looking for, while also helping those unfamiliar with South Asian produce.
Hannah Oo Meh, who helps run the Karenni Community of Minnesota’s Facebook page, said the store’s opening was a moment of pride for the local community, many of whom were present at the ribbon-cutting.
She estimated there are about 4,000 to 5,000 Karenni across Minnesota, mostly in the Twin Cities and Austin.
“Our community is really the least represented here so I’m really proud of this team for the grocery store,” she said.
Social media posts about the market’s launch helped spread the word in the Karenni community and also reached some neighbors.
Kang Yang stopped by Thursday morning for some snacks.
“I saw it on Facebook, and I live nearby so today I decided to come by and support [them],” said Yang, who is Hmong. “They have all the stuff I eat.”
The only other Karenni store Htay Reh knows of is Loikaw21, which opened in Austin during the pandemic.
Since its opening, Htay Reh said he’s seen that business as an inspiration and now that he has his store, he hopes others in his community will also take the opportunity to start their own businesses.
“I would love to see more. Like, that’s the reason we did this, so that maybe, potentially, hopefully, in a few years, we get to see other good business,” Htay Reh said.
