Saturday Dumpling Co. Makes State Fair Debut

A Plymouth family’s dream came true at the Minnesota State Fair this year.

Saturday Dumpling Co., which has three locations in Minneapolis, is open for business in the Food Building at the fair.

Visitors can pick up two different modern Asian street foods from the vendor: ube cheeseake wontons and cheesy Chinese sausage dumpling poppers.

For a drink, they offer a salted mango yuzuade, which is their bright, fruity take on an electrolyte drink.

Plymouth resident and Wayzata grad Linda Cao owns the shop.

Cao said the foods are specifically crafted for the fair, but they could eventually have a limited run at one of the Minneapolis locations. She’s hopeful her shops get a boost from the fair exposure.

“You get people from not only all over the state, but all over the country who come to visit the fair every year,” Cao said. “It’s great awareness for what we’re building at our restaurant.”

Linda Cao, founder of Saturday Dumpling Co. Though her business is located in Minneapolis, she and her family live in Plymouth.

Cao, along with Peter Bian, founded Saturday Dumpling Co. as a frozen food delivery service during the pandemic.

It evolved into two storefronts eventually, with one open at the Market at Malcom Yards, and two others in northeast and southwest Minneapolis.

For the fair, they’ve staffed 35 people.

So far, Cao said they’re getting great feedback.

“It’s always nerve-wracking the first year, because your entire team is new and you don’t know how anything is gonna go with all the processes and procedures, but everything is going great, and we’re having a really fun time,” Cao said.

Ube cheesecake wontons ready to be served at the fair.

Plymouth