Jake Spitzack
Staff Writer
The catering business that Guillermo Hernandez began five years ago has grown by leaps and bounds and now operates a full-fledged restaurant, Saint City. Located in the former Creators Space building, 218 7th St. E., it seats 200 and features American, Mexican and Salvadorian entrees for breakfast and lunch, a French-style bakery and specialty events. Hernandez, a 22-year veteran of the restaurant industry, aims to foster a sense of community by opening the space for events small and large.
“I want to make it a place where music and comedy are happening and you can come get your newspaper, drink your coffee and hang out for hours,” he said. “I have a little stage area where people can just go up to the mic and jam or do something if they want to.” He noted the performance space can also be reserved.
Saint City Catering operated in a 35-seat area within Creators Space for five years and Hernandez also managed Creators Cup Coffee there. When Creators Space went out of business last fall, Hernandez closed as well while considering his options.
“One of the things I wished I would have known is the fact that the new building owner wanted to keep me there, because then I would’ve never closed,” he said. “My main goal was to reopen later on, but the owner wanted it [Saint City] open, so it was kind of rushed.”
The grand reopening was in mid-January, although Hernandez is currently in talks with the city and other nearby businesses about hosting a block party to officially welcome more people back in. It would feature live entertainment inside his restaurant and food trucks outside.
Hernandez bakes his own bread using the yeast formed during the beer brewing process at Barrell Theory Brewing in Lowertown and processes his own masa (corn dough flour) to make two types of tortillas. Occasionally, he fires up specials like slow-roasted quail or duck, deep fried plantains, and Mexican- and Salvadorian-style tamales, or whips up a tomato eggplant chutney or other vegetarian dishes. A few staples on the menu include huevos rancheros, quiche, salmon salad, square pizzas and sweet potato quinoa cake.
“It’s [the quinoa cake] three types of quinoas, garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice, red onion, and shredded sweet potatoes and I form it into a patty and sear it both ways,” said Hernandez. “It comes with two scrambled eggs and a nice salad with a choice of two dressings, either the lemon honey or strawberry balsamic… The quiche we make here is almost like Jello and it’s beautiful.”
The recent five-course Valentine’s Day specialty dinner was accompanied by a musician and consisted of curry soup, watermelon and goat cheese salad, scalloped carpaccio, duck breast with pomegranate glaze, broccolini and mashed potatoes, wild salmon with beets, and roasted vegetables glazed with brown butter dill. Hernandez was pleased to see the plates come back looking like they were licked clean and plans to launch a permanent Thursday-Saturday dinner menu beginning in June.
“Mocktails are one of the things I’m really looking forward to doing, especially in the summer,” said Hernandez, who noted he doesn’t serve alcohol. “I want people to come for the food not the beverages. There are so many options for that [drinks] around here anyways, so I don’t feel like I need it. People come here to have family time, not just to drink.”
Guillermo is a California native and received a bachelor’s in culinary arts from the Art Institute of California-Los Angeles. He worked at several eateries before moving to Minnesota. Prior to founding Saint City Catering, he worked at Moscow on the Hill, FACES Mears Park, the Lexington and Joan’s in the Park. Saint City is open 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Wed.-Sun., and continues to offer catering for events of all sizes. On Fridays, 4-6 p.m., you can buy one coffee and get one free. For more information, visit saintcitycatering.com.
“I’m excited to see how the community takes me with my own ideas,” said Hernandez. “I have so much freedom now and I just really want to highlight the community is welcome to eat there, hang out and create memories.”
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