Centro Restaurant Group is now serving its tacos and crunchwraps twice a week in the downtown Minneapolis skyway.
The Northeast-based restaurant group is popping up in the U.S. Bancorp Center, where U.S. Bank is headquartered, during lunch on Tuesdays with Hippo Pockets and on Wednesdays with Centro.
Hippo Pockets and Centro were recruited to the building by Fooda, a technology-based service that traditionally brings restaurants to workplaces without cafeterias, to temporarily fill a former Caribou Coffee space, which hosts other concepts on Mondays and Thursdays.
Restaurants aren't required to lease the space at U.S. Bancorp Center, so terms are flexible, but the pop-ups are expected to be there for at least a few months.
Hippo Pockets is a spinoff of Centro’s take on crunchwraps, grilled tortillas stuffed with different combinations, including cheeseburger and falafel, both of which are available at U.S. Bancorp Center.
Hippo Pockets launched as a ghost kitchen inside Centro’s Eat Street location in early 2023. Since then, Centro has added two more of its eponymous Mexican restaurants, in St. Paul and Roseville.
Centro owner Jami Olson told Downtown Voices this week that Hippo Pockets will be the company’s focus for 2025. The plan is to focus on small retail locations where grab-and-go food is in high demand, like skyways, airports, and college campus buildings.
Hippo Pockets could sign a long-term lease elsewhere in the downtown Minneapolis skyway if the pop-up is successful.
At U.S. Bancorp Center, Hippo Pockets sell for $13 a pop on Tuesdays and Centro offers a $13 lunch special with two tacos and a side of chips and salsa on Wednesdays. Four varieties of Centro's tacos are also available a la carte for around $5 each on Wednesdays, as well as a handful other items, including the original Centro Crunch and a salad, both for $13.
U.S. Bancorp Center is located at 800 Nicollet Ave. between the Target store and the Dayton’s Project. The pop-ups are open there from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.
