Photos By John Hoff I was driving by the old Stand Up Franks the other day--the notorious booze hole trouble spot which I never had a chance to frequent before it was lost to the ages--when I noticed something had changed...
The "Stand Up Franks" sign was gone. Yes, the establishment had been de-frank-ified.
Rumor is the place will be closed for a while so all the old customer base goes away, then when it opens there will be a whole new theme to bring in a whole new crowd. Somebody in the Hawthorne Neighborhood Association put it this way: if they reopen too soon, they'll have the same crowd of chronic inebriates. The only thing that will change is the drunks will be drinking out of tiki cups.
I wonder what they did with the old sign?
Good luck to them! Our own (somewhat less) notorious Popeye's closed on East Lake a couple years ago, and the new bar in that space, Merlin's Rest, is a 180 degree change.
ReplyDeleteThe word is that its gonna be sum Donnie dudes psycho den - psycho suzi's ugly couzin - but nothing like suzi's which I wouldn't go to suzi's if you paid me. dat place smells like nasty feet, drinks are over priced and filled with more ice than booze, horrible horrible management and an untrained seasonal staff that over charges so watch your tabs folks! Aside from one good bartender and a few good veteran servers, the staff is RUDE. The place is a mess. There are much better dive bars with much better patios. I mean come on, if your going to try and have a tiki type bar in Minnesota of all places, at least TRY and be authentic, LAME.
ReplyDeleteDear Jordan neighbor, suzis may not have shootings but they have numerous hit and runs in the parking lot they are always posted on the neighbor hood watch list. and if the new place is managed anything like suzi's I doubt they'll get a liquor license...and yes, you'll still have the North side trading in the parking lot there...that will never change. Wasn't much on Frank's but whoever sold it was very smart in doing so, whoever bought it, bad move what a headache that is going to be. I think NE would be a better place if suzi checked herself in the psycho ward and took her ugly couzin Donnie with her. RIP Frank.
And Just so I don't have make an additional second post.....here is the disclaimer:
Sorry Camden (blogger), I am a Market Researcher and have been at my current job for over eleven years. I have never worked for Frank’s or Suzi’s. I have been a loyal patron to the Minneapolis service industry for many, many years. I have a lot of friends that work in the Industry and word travels fast. If I didn’t trust my sources and if I felt my personal experiences as a patron had no merit, I wouldn’t have made that previous post. Your ignorant assumptions are your downfall, a lofty contribution to the human condition as it remains today. Good luck with that closed mind of yours my friend.
STAND UP FRANK'S WAS JUST "FRANK'S BAR"WHEN MY GRANDFATHER PURCHASED IT FROM THE GRAIN BELT BREWERY AFTER WWI.THAT WAS A TIME WHEN NORTH MPLS WAS STILL FARM FIELDS.A
ReplyDeleteLOT OF FARMERS AS WELL AS TRADESMEN
WOULD COME AND DRINK.IT WAS A WORKING MANS BAR.IT WAS KNOWN FOR THE STRONGEST DRINK IN TOWN.WHEN MY UNCLE TOOK THE BAR OVER AFTER MY GRANDFATHERS DEATH.(SHOVELING HIS DRIVE WAY AFTER SNOW FALL HE HAD HAD A HEART ATTACK).MY UNCLE TOOK THE BAR STOOLS OUT.THERE YOU HAVE IT "STAND UP FRANKS".
IT HAS A BAD REPUTATION THESE DAYS BUT THERE WAS A TIME WHEN IT WAS CONSIDERED THEE PLACE TO GO.
LONG LIVE THE"STANDUP FRANK'S"
NAME!REGARDS TO ALL PAST PATRONS!
Stand Up Frank's circa 1979. You got a short beer glass full of Kesslers and a long neck Schmidt beer for a buck seventy five! I lived just West of there at W. Broadway and Penn, across from Howies Bar. I'd pound the shot and beer at Frank's, get on my bike a get home just as I was getting too shitfaced to drive. There were some tall tables at Frank's, but not a chair in the place. There was some sawdust on the floor and I recall seeing a couple of guys crawling in the gravel parking lot. Not a glamorous place, but the joint did have character. I just google earthed 2100 W. Broadway, the neighborhood has seen better days. Howies is gone as well as the supermarket a couple of doors down. Did Howies turn into Delisi's?
ReplyDeleteI was wrong, it wasn't Kessler's, it was Fleischman's.
ReplyDeleteIn the late eighties that bar was hoppin. Rum and Coke and the mix gun would just go ffffft. Only air would come out. If you asked the bartender to freshen your drink you would you would get a blank stare that made you not ask again. They also shook up a Watermelon shot in the summertime that could not be beat. I remember an old biker chick that kept her pool cue behind the bar. The kicker was, it was a bumper pool table. The old girl knew her angles though. If you stayed after all of the stagette and limo parties would leave, you could meet some genuine, salt-of-the-earth northsiders. Those were the days.
ReplyDeleteI heard you could turn in your AA chips for free drinks, is that true?
ReplyDeleteThere are a number of bars that will do that. And, personally, I think the practice should be outlawed.
ReplyDeleteJohn, your desire to outlaw everything and call the cops on nearly everyone makes Chairman Mao look like an anarchist, by comparison.
ReplyDeleteKeep your nose and the government's nose out of private transactions. If some AA member wants to get drunk, your latest new silly little law idea isn't going to do anything to stop them.