November 1st, 2009, marked a sad day for Minneapolis. The legendary music venue and restaurant known for its epic-sized portions of hash browns, burgers and delectable bloody marys, officially closed its doors to make room for a three-story retail development, the kind the city already has too many of.
Located at 3018 Hennepin Avenue, the Uptown Bar has been a down home staple for neighborhood residents, local regulars, and a diverse array of musical talent from legendary local bands, to world renowned talent.
For nearly eighty years, the Uptown Bar has served food and drinks and has been the home of incredible musical talent for the last twenty-years. Built around 1921, the bar originally opened as the Granada Cafe in 1933, and has operated as the Uptown Bar since 1943.
Anyone that visited or frequented the Uptown Bar would attest hands down, the venue was comfortable. Like a well-worn shoe, its unique down-home coziness was unsurpassed in an age of high-tech nightclubs and upscale menu selections.
The fight to reopen in an undisclosed Uptown location is on thanks to the feverish efforts by booking manager Brian McDonough. Securing over 4,000 signatures in three weeks, McDonough is challenging the City of Minneapolis to reconsider a liquor license clause that requires 60 percent of an establishment's revenue to come from food sales. With no grandfather clause in place putting no restrictions on sales, the license is currently non-transferable.
A recent appearance at Friday, October 30th's sold out show by Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, boosted morale with his pledge to support the relocation and a less restrictive liquor license.
The saddest part of the whole demolition is the displacement of lifelong employees, namely Anita Stinson-Kurth, mom to Replacement's bassist, now Guns and Roses bassist, Tommy Stinson. Stinson-Kurth has tended bar at the Uptown since 1974 and was there to see both her sons, Tommy and Bob play early sets as the Replacements. Christmas just wasn't complete without the impromptu acoustic set by Tommy Stinson one could expect every December. The holidays will no longer seem complete.
Too many bands to mention have played in those hallowed halls including Nirvana, Oasis, Flaming Lips and Smashing Pumpkins who all crowded the tiny stage and intimate venue. Hundreds, possibly thousands of local bands from the Jayhawks, Babes in Toyland and Curtis A frequently played some of the best shows of their musical careers at the Uptown.
All said and done, look forward to yet another franchise haven including a Columbia clothing outlet much the same as the North Face shop two stores down. Minneapolis has seen many establishments come and go, but the end of an era and the deconstruction of the Uptown Bar hits home hard.
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