Yia Vang

Vang was born in Ban Vinai refugee camp in Thailand after his family had fled Laos at the end of the Vietnamese War after the fall of Saigon.

[2][3] His father, Nhia Lor Vang, and mother, Pang Her, both widowed during the crossing of the Mekong, met at the camp in 1977 and married in 1978.

[3][7] He started his kitchen career early as a dishwasher at Ridges Golf Course and cooked at Golden Sands Speedway.

After College Vang moved to the Minneapolis area and worked at Gavin Kaysen’s Spoon and Stable and other restaurants, as a cook.

[11] In June 2022, he appeared on Iron Chef[3] and in November 2022, he started hosting Feral, a show that explores the culinary use of invasive species such as wild boar, python and lion fish on the Outdoor Channel.

The restaurant is located in Graze Provisions and Libations, a food hall in Minneapolis' North Loop neighborhood, which opened in October 2021.

[26] in the fall of 2024 Union Hmong Kitchen was featured on Diner, Drive-Ins and Dives with host Guy Fieri.

[3][35] Vinai opened on July 30, 2024, in Northeast, Minneapolis, in the space previously occupied by Dangerous Man Brewing Company.

[36][37] Vang calls the restaurant a love letter to his parents, who met in the refugee camp where he was later born.