MINNEAPOLIS — Amid the sounds of the big city sits a little slice of the country on the corner of Eighth Street and Second Avenue in Minneapolis. 

Inside, you won’t find farm animals or hay bails, but hungry customers seeking the cure for seemingly uncurable “hangries.”

A sandwich called the GOAT Chicken Sandwich, or Greatest of All Time, sits on the menu and is a title that’s now earning the eatery some extra dough.

“Tara, the owner, came in with the idea. She said somebody approached her and asked her if we wanted to be a part of the competition. It was a very famous bread company,”  Maribel Cuadros, a part-owner of the Hen House Eatery, said.

The famous company turned out to be the bread manufacturer, Sara Lee. They named it the “Best Chicken Sandwich in the Country,” awarding the eatery a $20,000 grand prize.

“They were looking for people to do a chicken sandwich and there were 7 other restaurants. We were one of them,” said Cuadros.

The GOAT sandwich consists of Cajun-seasoned chicken breast, BBQ sauce, pepper jack cheese and bacon.

“We never thought we would be a winner, but we made it,” Cuadros said.

The quality comes as no surprise to the kitchen that has become a family in the last 10 years.

“We are kind of sisters. We fight, we get along, we do everything sister do,” Cuadros said. “It’s Tara, Barb and me. We worked together in downtown. We served breakfast for a long time. One day, Tara decides to give us the idea that we could do it fun and private and we decided to keep doing it.”

The risk is now leading to national recognition.

“We are very blessed. I always say that it’s a lot of work to learn something,” Cuadros said. “Always learn something from someone. You keep that in your life and that brings you to a type of place like this. Keep fighting.”

The Hen House is planning to use some of the prize money for a staff holiday party. It also plans to donate a portion to Firefighters for Healing, a group that helps burn victims and their families.

A man in Minneapolis was shot after trying to help a woman who was involved in a fight.

Minneapolis police said a physical fight occurred at Lake Street West and Aldrich Avenue South around 12:16 a.m. between a woman and a man who was later identified as the suspected shooter.

After the fight ended and the suspect left, a man tried to help the woman. However, police said the suspect returned to the area with a gun.

The man tried to run to safety from the suspect, who shot him as he fled.

The injured man was taken to the hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

The status of the woman was also unknown.

No arrests have been made.

MINNEAPOLIS — An international pop star is on tour in the Twin Cities and she’s making her visit all about giving back and helping the environment.

“Billie Eilish came into the shop as a complete surprise,” Justin Schaefer, the owner of VINTAGE, off Lyndale Avenue South in Minneapolis, said. The business is just over a year old and occupies the historic 1930s White Castle building.

Schaefer and his son got to meet the Grammy Award winner on Saturday ahead of her back-to-back concerts at the Xcel Energy Center.

“[Billie] was very kind, vibing the place out,” Schaefer said. “She picked up a 1960s referee jacket, and a cooking apron from the 1970s with a nude female figure, like body, screen print on top of it.”

Friends Courtnee Schippel and Hope Easter intentionally visited VINTAGE after Eilish shopped there. They went to her concert on Sunday night.

“We were like, you know what we’re going to go [to VINTAGE], and if it’s open it’s meant to be,” Schippel said. “We were like, ‘What if we’d come yesterday? What if we had met Billie on a whim?’” 

The two friends are not surprised Eilish is supporting sustainable businesses while on tour. Eilish encourages fans coming to her shows to bring reusable water bottles to eliminate single-use plastic. Also, for the first time in Minneapolis, her concert is also a food drive. She’s asking fans to bring non-perishable plant-based items to donate to Minnesota food shelf Second Harvest Heartland.

“I feel like no matter how popular Billie gets, she’s always going to be really vocal about things she cares about and stay consistent about the things she cares about,” Schippel said. 

Second Harvest Heartland said the food drive at the concerts has been very popular, which is good timing because the food shelf said there’s a very high need right now.

“I think anyone that uses their platform to promote zero waste is fantastic,” Schaefer said.

For location and store hours for VINTAGE, follow them on Instagram: @jschaejschae.