What’s Being Built Next to Firestone Tires in NW Rochester?

It’s nearly impossible to drive around Rochester right now without hitting a detour or seeing someone in a hard hat. All of the construction can definitely test your patience during your daily commute, but watching new buildings pop up is kind of exciting.

If you’ve driven near Walmart North recently, you've probably noticed construction crews moving dirt next to Firestone. It's not a bank, a coffee shop, or another Kwik Trip. A second location of a local favorite is on the way.

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I stopped by Walmart for some back to school supplies and on my way out of the parking lot I noticed a giant pile of dirt across the street. Construction crews were breaking ground in the lot next to Firestone Tires.

TSM Rochester

I did a little digging (pun intended) and found this will be the site of a second First Meeting Noodle restaurant.

First Meeting has built a huge following of locals who love the restaurant's authentic, handmade Chinese dishes.

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Noodle Master Young Shen and Executive Chef John Chen opened the state's very first hand-pulled noodle shop up in St. Paul in 2019. A few years later in 2022, they brought their skills to Rochester, opening First Meeting Noodle on 16th Street SW.

Why People Love First Meeting Noodle in Rochester:

The restaurant has a nearly perfect Yelp score (4.7 out of 5 stars). At First Meeting there are no pre-packaged noodles, a skilled noodle master actually pulls or shaves your noodles fresh right in the kitchen.

• Hand-Pulled Noodles: The chef takes a single piece of wheat dough and repeatedly stretches, folds, and pulls it by hand until it turns into long, uniform strands.Knife-
• Shaved Noodles: Using a special curved blade, the chef rapidly shaves ribbons off a solid block of firm dough straight into boiling broth.

Crews are just getting started on the new restaurant so no official opening date has been announced, but we'll keep you posted when we find out more.