Chouas Market licensed for University Avenue storefront in Saint Paul
New Capabilities Saint Paul, MN localA second location for the founder of Brooklyn Park's Global Grocery Market
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Overview
Updated 1 hour agoA new grocery license appeared on Minnesota's public list September 10: Xiong Choua, doing business as Chouas Market, cleared for food handler retail at 995 University Avenue West, Suite 129 in Saint Paul. The address sits on University Avenue, the commercial spine of the Twin Cities' Hmong community.
The owner record matches Choua Xiong, who founded Global Grocery Market in Brooklyn Park during the pandemic with her husband Kao Vue. The name and the owner both point to this being her second storefront.
Why it matters
If Chouas Market opens, Frogtown residents gain a walkable source of culturally-specific groceries along University Avenue.
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People Involved
Organizations Involved
Delivery-focused Asian and African grocery serving a 40-mile radius from Brooklyn Park.
Newly licensed retail food business on Saint Paul's University Avenue corridor.
State agency that licenses food handlers, including retail food businesses.
Timeline
2020 September 2026
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Chouas Market license appears on state list
Today RegulatoryMinnesota Department of Agriculture lists a food handler retail license for Xiong Choua, dba Chouas Market, at 995 University Ave W, Suite 129, Saint Paul.
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Global Grocery Market founded in Brooklyn Park
Business LaunchChoua Xiong and Kao Vue open a delivery-focused Asian and African grocery after pandemic layoffs and pay cuts.
Historical Context
2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
Hmongtown Marketplace opens (2004)
Hmong entrepreneurs converted a bankrupt factory on Como Avenue in Saint Paul into Hmongtown Marketplace, a market with hundreds of vendors selling produce, meat, herbs, and prepared food. It drew shoppers from across the Twin Cities.
The market became an immediate draw, anchoring a commercial stretch that had little foot traffic before.
It proved a Hmong-focused market could support a large retail complex in Saint Paul and set a template for later developments.
Shows the precedent for Hmong food retail as a commercial anchor in Saint Paul, the same model Chouas Market is betting on along University Avenue.
Hmong Village Shopping Center opens (2011)
Hmong entrepreneurs opened Hmong Village, a large market complex on the East Side of Saint Paul with dozens of stalls selling groceries, clothing, and prepared food. It became one of the largest Hmong markets in the United States.
The market drew steady crowds and filled a need for culturally-specific food on the East Side.
It helped establish Saint Paul's East Side and University Avenue areas as regional destinations for Southeast Asian food.
Demonstrates that demand for Hmong grocery retail in the Twin Cities is large enough to support multiple major markets, the environment Chouas Market enters.
