Khazana Has Quietly Sold Imported Arts on Lyndale for 25 Years

Kataria opened Khazana — Urdu for "treasure" — roughly three decades ago, starting downtown on Nicollet Avenue before moving the gallery to Lyndale in 2011. She grew up in India, began collecting as a child, and after moving to Minneapolis more than 40 years ago kept traveling to buy directly from craftspeople. She and co-owner Ashu Kataria source textiles, rugs, jewelry, classical musical instruments, hand-cast bronzes, paintings and antiques, largely from India and South Asia.

Kataria says she founded the shop to "connect my cultural heritage and the broader world of traditional and contemporary Indian art to Minneapolis," and frames the business around fair pay and lasting relationships with artists rather than volume. During the pandemic, Khazana ran a "Tree of Life" project to showcase affected artisans' work and raise relief funds.

The shop operates mostly by appointment — weekdays 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. by appointment, Saturdays noon to 5 p.m., closed Sunday, per its Yelp listing — and can be reached at 612-339-4565. That model suits high-value, one-of-a-kind pieces sold to buyers who know what they want, trading casual foot traffic for reputation.

Longevity like that is uncommon on a corridor known for turnover, and a low-overhead, reputation-driven specialist may be better positioned than flashier neighbors to ride out the disruption of the planned Lyndale Avenue reconstruction. Three decades in, Khazana is one of the long-tenured shops that give the street some of its character.