A new downtown Minneapolis lunch spot is serving Korean-inspired sandwiches, rice bowls, soups, and salads every weekday.

‍Food on the Fly smokes its own meat, makes its own sausages, and creates vegan variations for nearly every dish on the menu. That includes chef/owner Samo Newman’s smoked pork recipe that he’s been using since his days at Haute Dish, as well as a new bulgogi sausage, which has been a hit so far.

Newman’s resume includes cooking gigs at Bar La Grassa, Hell’s Kitchen, and The Bulldog Northeast. He had been waiting for a couple of years for the right opportunity to open his own place.

“I did the fine dining thing for a little while, and then just kind of wanted to get back to making, like, real food,” Newman told Downtown Voices. “My partner and I were driving and we saw an abandoned Arby’s, and I was kind of thinking about trying to make some kind of gourmet fast food.”

Food on the Fly took over the longtime Valentino Cafe space after the operator retired. Photo by Brianna Kelly

While working in the kitchen of the now-closed Kim’s in Uptown, Newman and Food on the Fly sous chef Nate Stefanski reconnected and bonded over being Korean adoptees. The pair realized their paths had crossed about a decade earlier at Haute Dish, a North Loop restaurant that closed in 2017, and they were aligned in their culinary aspirations.

Like Newman, Stefanski has also worked in upscale kitchens, including Travail Kitchen and Amusements in Robbinsdale and Vinai in Northeast Minneapolis. He's the brains behind Food on the Fly's plant-based proteins.

“I think we're able to feed off each other's creativity, and we were able to work a lot of his products into the menu and keep building on all that,” Newman said of his partnership with Stefanski. 

Food on the Fly is located in the Forum 900 building, previously known as the Oracle Centre, where Ruth's Chris Steak House is also a tenant. Photo by Brianna Kelly

Food on the Fly plans to start distributing its plant-based proteins, including chicken, pork, and pastrami, to other restaurants around town. 

Newman is also building a corporate catering program. He hopes it will take off with downtown Minneapolis employers looking to feed their workers.

Food on the Fly is located in the former Valentino Cafe space on the ground floor of the Forum 900 building, 900 Second Ave. S., where it’s open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.