Owning a business was once just a dream for Dana and Peter Smith.
The married couple, who have two young daughters, used 2020 as an opportunity to pool their resources and open their very own grocery store.
Their grocery store, MinnyRow Market, opened last November at 740 Mainstreet in Hopkins.
"[Owning a grocery store] is something that was always on our mind when we first got together in 2014," Dana Smith said. "We wanted to have something of our own and we didn't know how detailed it was going to be."
The couple revisited their goals early on in 2020 and decided to combine their passions to create MinnyRow Market. Dana's passion lies in customer service and Peter's passion, is food.
For Dana, a Black woman, the road to becoming a business owner wasn't well-paved.
"Growing up, for me, in white suburbia, there are not a lot of Black business owners that you see," said Dana.
Dana and Peter certainly didn't anticipate opening a grocery store in the middle of pandemic, or during one most turbulent years in Minnesota history when it comes to racial and social justice.
Dana says the months leading up to their official opening were eye opening.
"I grew up kind of always hiding behind my role as a Black woman in white suburbia," she said. "Having the opportunity to create this with my husband gives me the confidence I don't think I always had."
On May 25, 2020 George Floyd was killed outside of Cup Foods at 38th and Chicago. That site sits just 10 miles away from MinnyRow Market.
After Floyd's death, opening a market suddenly meant more than offering people a new place to get their groceries.
"If we were going to open a market in 2020, in Minnesota, in Hopkins, and as an interracial couple, we had to take a stand for something. For us, that's community."
Walking into the one-room grocery store that is MinnyRow Market, you may feel as if you've stepped into a grocery store of yesteryear. Products that fill the shelves are locally sourced, ethically produce, and you'll likely be greeted by one of the owners.
Making MinnyRow Market a community-based store goes beyond the products sold.
"Having a female-owned, Black-owned, and minority-owned business is important in today's world as it shows younger generations that it is an avenue and a possibility for them," Peter said. "It can be something as simple as food. It's part of everybody's everyday life."
Peter says they want the market to feel like a place where everyone feels represented.
"To have that comfort of seeing someone that looks like you as an owner of the market sounds like a simple thing, but I think it's important," he said.
For Dana, the conversation about race and social justice isn't any easy one to open up about.
"I'm not comfortable talking about it," she said. "For my whole life, it's been something you don't speak about and 2020 put race in the limelight and I am not comfortable doing it yet."
MinnyRow Market is an opportunity to speak out.
"In a way we're reverting back to an old time way of shopping, but we're also doing it progressively being female-owned and outspoken on things we feel are important in society and in this community," said Peter.
As their business grows, Dana and Peter hope to continue offering more locally sourced goods right from Main Street in Hopkins.
Their business is also a message to their daughters.
"I want them to their mom is doing something she loves and thinks is important," Dana said. "I hope to inspire them to follow their dreams. MinnyRow Market is a dream of ours and just showing our daughters if you have a goal and enough dedication, you can accomplish anything."
