Archie’s Diner opened by inspiring entrepreneur
Max Mayleben
Media Editor
Minnesota State University, Mankato students have a new restaurant added on their list of choices when wanting to eat out.
Archie’s Diner opened Jan. 11, created by the young entrepreneur, RayShawn Ninow, also known as Archie.
“It’s more than comfort food, it’s sleepy food” says Minnie Albadry about the newly opened Archie’s Diner in the Civic Center Plaza.
The restaurant itself has a wide series of food to offer, including fried wings, coleslaw, sloppy joes, and Archie’s favorite, sugar-free banana pudding. Minnie Albadry, a worker at Archie’s, says the banana pudding is sugar free so her grandmother, a diabetic, could eat something sweet to eat.
Ninow himself was only 22 years old when he began his venture to open his restaurant. Being bounced between 22 different foster homes during his childhood, Ninow remained resilient. After high school, he planned to play football at Winona State University until a torn ACL on the last football game of his senior year. Instead, he went to culinary school, and by the age of 22, he had saved up enough money to open his own restaurant.
The name Archie comes from Ninow’s childhood name, but when he was adopted, he changed it to RayShawn. Ninow chose Archie as the name of the restaurant due to the personal meaning that name holds with him.
Archie’s Diner was created with the intent to provide an inexpensive, comfort food style dining experience that makes even the most homesick students feel at home. From the filling potato soup to the spicy creole, the menu is designed to give anyone the feeling of a home-cooked meal.
Open until 9 p.m. on the weekdays and 3 a.m. on the weekends, Ninow welcomes everyone from all walks of life into his restaurant. At the end of every night, Ninow gives out the leftover food from the day out to the homeless population around Mankato.
Ninow wants one thing taken from his story, “Anything is possible. Dream it, believe it, achieve it.”
Header photo: A platter of comfort food being served at Archie’s Diner, which recently opened this past Sunday. Located in the Civic Center Plaza, young entrepreneur and owner Archie Ninow hopes to attract new customers in the downtown area. (Andrew Bravo/MSU Reporter)