Ann Ahmed

She was born in Vientiane, Laos.^[1] Her father died when she was 18 months old.^[2] She and her mother left Laos when Ahmed was two years old and lived in a Thai refugee camp until she was four. Her great uncle sponsored the family in immigrating to the United States in 1984, where they moved to Minnesota.^[2] Her mother worked several jobs to support the family and saved to be able to buy the Lao Market on Nicollet. Ann later worked in the deli there.^[3] By middle school, she was planning 10-page menus with "a lot of curry."^[4] In response to her mother's urging her to get a formal education, she later earned a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies from San Diego State University and was preparing for a career in teaching.^[3] Even while in college, Ahmed ran a catering business out of her garage.^[4] When she was a week away from graduating, Ahmed's mother called her about a restaurant that was for sale in Brooklyn Park. After graduating, Ahmed started her first restaurant in that Brooklyn Park location.^[3][4] She bought the restaurant over the phone.^[5][6]

Ahmed's first restaurant opened in 2005 in Brooklyn Park and gave her the opportunity to focus on food inspired by her heritage and traveling.^[7] She called it Thai because that cuisine was more commonly known in Minnesota at the time.^[5][4] Ahmed closed the restaurant in March 2023 after its 18-year run because she felt like it had "run its course."^[7] She opened Gai Noi later in 2023.

Lat14 opened in Golden Valley in 2018 in a former Perkins that was dramatically redesigned by Shea Design in Minneapolis.^[8] The restaurant's name refers to the 14th parallel, which travels through Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines.^[6]

Ahmed's third restaurant is her first in Minneapolis and opened at 40th and Lyndale in 2021.^[9] The name means "please" in Lao and is intended to emphasize compassion.^[9] In addition to the restaurant, the space also includes a small shop, a private dining room, and a demonstration kitchen used for cooking classes. Eater named the restaurant one of the best 15 new restaurants in the U.S. for 2022.^[10] Food and Wine editor Khushbu Shah called Khâluna's Bucatini Talay the "most boundary-pushing noodles" she tasted in 2022.^[11]

Gai Noi is a Laotian restaurant in the Loring Park neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota.^[12][13] Established in May 2023, the business was included in The New York Times's 2023 list of the 50 best restaurants in the United States.^[14][1] The name is short for "khao gai noi, the short grain rice used to make sticky rice" and is "commonly known as 'little chick' because it’s spotted and small."^[15] The restaurant is inspired by Luang Prabang, where Ahmed was born. In contrast to her other restaurants, Gai Noi is intentionally walk in only to create a "casual gathering feel."^[16]

• Selected as a 2019 Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership Fellow by the James Beard Foundation^[17]
• Khâluna was named one of the best 15 new restaurants in the U.S. by Eater for 2022^[10][5]
• Semifinalist for 2023 Best Chef: Midwest from the James Beard Awards^[18]
• Gai Noi was named one of the Top 50 Restaurants of 2023 by the New York Times^[1]
• Ahmed was named one of 50 people who are changing the way Minnesotans eat by the Minneapolis Star Tribune in their 2023 Iconic Eats series^[19]
• Semifinalist for 2024 Best Chef: Midwest from the James Beard Awards^[20]
• Semifinalist for 2025 Outstanding Chef for Khâluna from the James Beard Awards^[21]

Ahmed is married to Tarique Ahmed, who is from Bangladesh and has a finance background and has expanded into owning real estate.^[9][22] Their first blind date was at Cafe Lurcat, down the street from the location where Ahmed's Gai Noi restaurant opened in 2023.^[16] They have twins who were born in 2014.^[23] She told MPR that she enjoys making traditional Bengali curries for her husband at home.^[24]