Submitted photo SMSU alum Subash Yadav (right) and business partner Alexis Poce (left) founded Mr. Momo in 2019, a popular dumpling dish in Nepal cuisine, and recently relocated to Minneapolis from Arizona.

MINNEAPOLIS — Already seeing great success in its first six years of operation, Southwest Minnesota State University alum Subash Yadav, alongside business partner Alexis Poce, have taken their Nepali-inspired dumpling business to Arizona, the Super Bowl and now to Minnesota. 

After graduating from SMSU in 2012, Yadav took a bet on himself to self-create a business selling and making momos, a dumpling dish popular in Nepalese cuisine where he grew up, and founded Mr. Momo in 2019 while he was living in Arizona. 

“I wanted to start my own business at the time with a very small investment … Instead of buying a house, I got a food truck,” Yadav said of Mr. Momo’s start. “Nobody in Arizona was doing it. We were the first Nepali food truck, and the only people making and serving momo in all of Phoenix. That’s how it got started.” 

Yadav was living in Arizona for four years before starting his food truck venture, and met Poce through a mutual friend. The two partnered together in hopes of taking Mr. Momo’s success to another level. Poce is the co-founder. 

The two had a restaurant serving their momos and dipping sauces in Arizona, which the two said had great success with frequent wait times during the weekends. But, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the eatery to close, and Poce and Yadav had to find another way to keep their business afloat. 

“We started to sell them (dumplings) at farmers markets, which were still open,” Poce said. “The success was almost immediate. Everybody loved them. They garnered a lot of attention, and (gained) quite a big following … Things went really, really well for several years.”  

“It was organic growth, honestly. We never did paid marketing,” Yadav added. “It was always (that) people would come try it and they loved it, and they would bring their friends, and they would bring their families who were visiting from out of town. It was very gradual, organic growth.” 

The farmer’s market success turned into an opportunity to serve Mr. Momo at the 2023 Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona.  

“It was shocking, because there were 600-plus applicants to be a vendor at the Super Bowl, and they selected 35. We were one of them. It was a huge privilege,” Yadav said. “We had never served any on that large of a scale before. We served over 30,000 dumplings … It was fun to see and experience that large scale event.” 

“(The Super Bowl) prompted us to buy a dumpling machine, because we never would have been able to roll that many dumplings,” Poce added. “Now, we can make 7,000 dumplings in an hour or two instead of 90. That changed our trajectory completely.” 

In a chain-like reaction, the opportunities continued to build for Yadav and Poce with a chance to branch out to Minneapolis. 

“We struck the attention of an investor here in Minnesota, and he offered to invest in our company and to build us a dumpling factory here in Minnesota. So, we packed up, and within a week or two, we were driving our food truck across the country to live here,” Poce said. “We just threw everything we had into a van and into the truck, and we drove. We left our homes and drove across the country.” 

Poce had previously lived in Arizona for 20 years running her own business before making the move to Minnesota. 

Mr. Momo can now be found around the Twin Cities, like at the Himalayan Restaurant in Minneapolis and The Hyderabad Indian Grill in both Fridley and Minneapolis. The factory is located at 2916 East Lake Street, which now welcomes pickup orders on Wednesdays and Saturdays. 

“We’ve been here a little over a year now, and the factory is finished,” Poce said. “It’s beautiful, and we have freezer space we couldn’t have ever dreamt of. We have machines we couldn’t have imagined, and now, we can produce on a scale to be able to supply dumplings nationwide.” 

While the two said they are still establishing grounds in a new location and navigating new sales channels, Yadav noted they are also in the process of getting Department of Agriculture (USDA) certification so they can expand Mr. Momo to a national level. 

Yadav also acknowledged that new local support has been a significant help. 

“There are lot of resources here in Minnesota. We have connected with organizations like AURI (Agricultural Utilization Research Institute), which is based out of Marshall, and Naturally Minnesota,” Yadav said. “We have now mentors who are walking us through these very lengthy processes … We know that we have a great product set, and with time it will shine.” 

Although it’s been a busy journey of Mr. Momo, Yadav has enjoyed the chance the past year of being able to reconnect with some of his Minnesota roots. 

“It’s been fun to reconnect with my classmates. Honestly, it’s kind of been like a little bit of a homecoming. I went back to school (SMSU), visited people there. My friends come to visit me,” Yadav said. “Some of my professors have come to visit and see the factory, so that part has been fun. I’ve enjoyed being back.” 

Both Poce and Yadav have goals to continue building Mr. Momo nationally, and to also enter retail. 

“We do want to be in grocery stores. We want people to be able to go and pick up frozen momos and make them at their leisure at home,” Poce said. “I want to see dumpling huts. I want to see little tiny footprint drive-thru huts where you get your ready-made momos.” 

Yadav also said it would be another dream to eventually see Mr. Momo on highway exit signs, or even get an opportunity to expand his business to southwest Minnesota for a greater full-circle moment. 

“My first job in America was as a dishwasher in that (SMSU) cafeteria,” Yadav said laughing. 

Mr. Momo, which can also be found on Facebook and Instagram, has upcoming appearances planned, including the Minnesota State Fair at the end of August. Yadav said they will have a booth with Made in Minnesota handing out samples. 

Yadav and Poce are also planning to visit SMSU during the upcoming orientation as new students arrive on campus to serve momos. 

“I love seeing people who’ve never had momo … and they just fall in love with it. That still makes me very happy,” Yadav said. “Seeing people believe in us … It’s been super exciting.”