Findlay Market will welcome a new vendor this May when Mimi’s Gourmet Egg Rolls & Curry Bowls opens inside the market house in between Mama Lo Hizo and Bean Haus.
The family-owned operation will add to the mix of ready-to-eat food offered at Ohio’s oldest public market, and it will build upon a family bond that has circled around food from the early days.
The mother and father, Mimi and Sithi Assanuvat, are the owners and say that they have signed a two-year lease for their space.
Sithi, an immigrant from Thailand, received his U.S. citizenship last year after living and working in America for decades in the restaurant industry. The family, he says, has been coming to Findlay Market for many years to shop at Saigon Market, and now that he is retired his daughters, Ashley and Alicia, thought it would be the perfect time to open up shop.
“Whenever you come to our house for dinner, you’ll have like five courses,” Ashley explained.
The family says that they have been working on opening the business for about a year, but that they have been waiting for a space to open up inside Findlay Market’s crowded market house.
Sithi says that all of the offerings at Mimi’s Gourmet Egg Rolls & Curry Bowls will be homemade recipes with ingredients sourced from fellow Findlay Market vendors.
The dishes are more than just family approved however. Last month Sithi’s egg rolls won the People’s Choice Award at the Asian Food Fest, and since that time others working at Findlay Market have begun to affectionately refer to Sithi as the Egg Roll Guy.
The family says that egg rolls will cost $1.75 and curry bowls, with a massaman curry style, will cost $4.95 and will include rice. Patrons will also be able to get a combo special which includes an egg roll, curry bowl, and drink for $7. In addition, the daughters, when staffing the space on the weekends, will sell their special Thai Tea.
The items to be offered at the beginning will include beef, chicken and vegetarian options, and in the future the family says that they may also offer a spring roll to appeal to Findlay Market’s many vegan customers.
“We want to be authentic and be environmentally aware,” Ashley emphasized. “We’ll be using reusable curry bowls, using fresh ingredients, and will be composting.”
An exact opening date is not yet set, but the family expects to open by the middle of May. Once open, Mimi’s Gourmet Egg Rolls & Curry Bowls (follow on Twitter @MimisGourmetEgg) will be open from 9am to 6pm Monday through Friday, 8am to 6pm on Saturdays, and 10am to 4pm on Sundays.
Those interested in getting a sneak peek at what the Assanuvat family will be offering can come join the kick-off of UrbanCincy’s annual Bikes+Brews ride at the OTR Biergarten on Saturday, May 4 where they will be sampling some of their soon-to-come Thai Tea.