After three-year wait, neighbors cheer opening of D’s Banh Mi in south Minneapolis

The picnic tables are freshly stained and the flower beds overflowing at D’s Banh Mi in south Minneapolis, where the highly anticipated Vietnamese restaurant finally opened this week after surmounting years of regulatory hurdles and a freak fire.

Minutes after the takeout window slid open for business on Thursday morning, neighbors lined up to place orders.

Melissa and Jeff Guenther, who live nearby, had been looking forward to D’s Banh Mi for three years straight. At times when they saw workers toiling inside, they pressed their noses up to the windows and knocked for updates. When they finally heard at their National Night Out block party on Tuesday night that Thursday would be the grand opening, Jeff took off work so the whole family — including kids Twyla and Una, on summer break — could go together.

“Everybody’s been pretty excited about it,” said Jeff.

The family operation behind D’s Banh Mi at 1848 E. 38th St. consists of matriarch Hilda Tov, her three sons Dylan, Dyon and Dustin Tran and all the respective in-laws. Tov fled Vietnam after the war, which ended 50 years ago, and raised her sons in south Minneapolis. She continues to style hair at Hilda’s Hair Hut four blocks away from D’s Banh Mi.

“My mom’s dream, since she had the three of us, is to have some type of family business so that we can all work together,” said Dyon, who moved back to Saigon about 10 years ago and helps research the local cuisine. “Unfortunately, no one was able to cut hair.”

The eldest, Dylan, was a chef, so the family set their sights on opening a restaurant together. For the neighborhood foodies who have been staring at D’s “coming soon” sign and papered-overed windows for three years, the wait has been long indeed.

But the city licensing process took its toll — inspection backlogs begat construction delays, and the target opening day kept getting pushed back. When D’s Banh Mi had a soft launch as a delivery-only service, buttressed by an Instagram boasting heavyweight sandwiches bursting with meat, the anticipation reached a fever pitch.

In January, just a week before D’s Banh Mi was set to open, a car hit the electrical pole at the corner of its lot, which crushed the roof of the stand, set it ablaze and flooded the interior, said Dyon. They had to rebuild and reinspect.

Family friend Anh Tran, who brought half a dozen relatives to breakfast at D’s on Thursday, said that accident had been a major blow. But the owner, Tov, was a marathon runner whose persistence carried D’s Banh Mi across the finish line, she said.

“Running helped her through the hard time, like when it got burned. She told me that because of running, it gave her calm,” Tran said.

Another of D’s first customers, Michael Freeman, said his wife works out across the street at Hardshell Fitness, so he’d been asking her at least once a week if the restaurant had opened yet. Freeman writes Google reviews, informing other diners what new restaurants look and taste like. He was still mulling what he would say about D’s Banh Mi while munching on a pork sandwich on Thursday, but thought he’d emphasize the flavors.