After the runaway success of Beginner’s Luck last year – and the enduring excellence of Valley staples The Gladly and Citizen Public House – In Good Spirits Hospitality, the restaurant group launched by restaurateur Andrew Fritz and chef Bernie Kantak in 2012, is riding the wave with its July opening of Minnow. The fast-casual concept focuses on an unexpected but winning combo: matcha and sushi.
IGS Hospitality marketing director Hannah Lyons gives us the lowdown on the “laid-back, elevated and fun” eatery’s house-made syrup and secret sauce, plus what it’s bringing to the table at PHOENIX magazine’s Best of the Valley Party on Saturday, October 18. Minnow will join dozens of other BOV-winning small businesses, plus bottomless tastings, live entertainment, a custom photo booth, scavenger hunt, beer garden and more. Tickets are available here.
Tell us a bit about Minnow and its vibe and food philosophy.
Minnow is a vibrant, all-day community and neighborhood hangout from sunrise to sunset. Situated in the heart of the Arcadia neighborhood., Minnow focuses on bold flavors that are approachable and craveable.
Our matcha program centers around a first-harvest, organic matcha from Nekohama that can be made into fun lattes or enjoyed in traditional formats. Although matcha is one of the highlights, we also feature a fruity and fun draft cocktail program with $10 happy hour cocktails and inventive sushi to pair.
What will you be serving at this year’s Best of the Valley Party and why did you choose these items?
We will be bringing two of our favorite (and more popular) items! First is our coconut matcha mocktail. We use a blend of Seedlip non-alcoholic distilled spirits, a house-made toasted coconut syrup [and] a float of Nekohama first-harvest, grade A matcha. It’s an absolute hit and it had a lot of people that weren’t big-time matcha drinkers changing their minds upon trying it.
We will also serve the Blanquita. This is one of our more popular specialty rolls featuring spicy yellowtail [and] cucumber, topped with yellowtail, spring onion and a super-secret Minnow salsa verde.
What kind of feedback do you hope to get from attendees? What do you hope people will remember about visiting your booth?
Our favorite thing is sharing matcha with our community and encouraging them to try different things that they may not be able to find anywhere else. We think the matcha is certainly memorable, especially for those that might not consume it regularly. Being able to share the love and intention behind the matcha is always a special moment for us.
What made you want to be part of this year’s festival? What are you most looking forward to?
We’re looking forward to sharing what we do at Minnow with the community and being able to bring a little piece of Minnow to Downtown Phoenix.
