Goodbye Hamlin's Restaurant in Minneapolis

Minneapolis' oldest restaurant closed Friday. It was in business for 80 years (1926) and under the Hamlin's name since 1961. Its appearance dated to 1961 in decor as well and the menu was a throwback to a different era--simple food, breakfast food, tuna melts, BLTs, hamburgers, etc. Coffee was served in a mug. Few people knew it existed except for downtown workers. It was located in the lower level basement like space in the old NSP building on Nicollet Mall between 5th and 6th Street. The waitresses were longtime employees. It had a large horse shoe shaped lunch counter and booths only. They were only open for breakfast and lunch. You were guaranteed a randy joke from a senior waitress at just about every visit. Great place. I visited it last on Wednesday figuring I would never get in on Friday.

End of an era in downtown Minneapolis.

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/284300.html

So sorry I missed Hamlin's. We make numerous business trips to the Twin Cities every year and have always sought out your towns' most interesting places. I can't believe we've never even heard of Hamlin's till now.

Perhaps you can do a little research and clarify something for me though. In the same general area as Hamlin's, the Nicollet Mall, 114 S. 8th Street, is Peter's Grill, a place we've been to many times and enjoyed. According to their menu, THEY are the oldest restaurant in Minneapolis! It's been several years since we last visited Peter's, so maybe they closed before Hamlin's. Either way, I would really like to know. There can only be one "oldest" restaurant in any given town, so which is it in Minneapolis-Peter's Grill or Hamlin's?

Buddy

Buddy,

Peter's Grill is still in business but is in a new location (the one you visited) that in my opinion is pretty antiseptic compared to where it used to be. It is all new, relatively speaking. The food is not the same either. President Clinton gave them a boost by visiting there in 1995 and the menus now sport his comment and autograph endorsement. I don't know when you were last there. The new location is on 8th Street and that location is where Clinton stopped. The old location was on 9th Street and it was a gem of a place. I ate there more times than I should have back in the early 70s. Which is older? I don't know the answer but Hamlin's was in its location longer than any other restaurant and it still had its aura of a time long past. Peter's Grill only has its name left. It is not bad but it was once a lot better.

But if you want a real unique longtime restaurant experience, Nick's Kitchen in Huntington, Indiana has been in continuous operation for 98 years in the same location and is now run by just its 5th owner, Jean Anne Bailey, Janicks, on this forum. Not only unique but it has the best pork tenderloin sandwich which was also invented there. In the past two weeks I have had the priviledge of eating at Nick's Kitchen, Hamlin's Cafe and Peter's Grill.

Davy,

The Peter's Grill location we visited was a very large room with an Art Deco-like appearance, particularly the light fixtures as I recall. There was lots of dark wood and drab olive green upholstery on the booths and counter stools.

If this wasn't the original location, they did a hekcuva job making it look like it had been there for eighty some years. For someone like myself who had never been there before, I was convinced that I was sitting in a piece of Minneapolis history.

You're comments about the food are more or less accurate; good but not great, still a satisfying meal. The irony is that, if in fact we were at the new location, I felt as if the "historic" feel of the place compensated for the merely average food. Now it turns out that may have been a phony. Very disappointing.

Was the original location anything at all like the establishment I've described? Did they make any effort to transplant the original fixtures and decor into the new spot?

I've got one of their carry-out menus with a copy of Bill Clinton's autograph on it. They've certainly played that for all it's worth, eh.

Thanks for the info,

Buddy

Buddy,

The 8th Street restaurant was all new late 80s or early 90s I believe. It was well done but the large windows fronting two sides kind of took away the old feel. The older Peter's Grill was narrow and deep with one deep horse shoe counter and booths that surrounded it on three sides. The space was narrow at the street and deep so the only windows were at the front. It was darker, beat up and old, and cozier. I think if you liked the new Peter's Grill you would have loved the old one.

Back in the early 70s we tended to eat the full plate dinners like meatloaf and mashed potatoes topped off with Dutch apple pie for dessert. People don't eat lunches like that anymore. It seems to be more sandwiches and salads today. The key to a good old-fashioned inexpensive lunch place is whether your coffee is served in a real ceramic bottomless mug or cup. That Peter's Grill does.

This is starting to remind me of the sad "updating" of Winstead's in Kansas City. Your description of the tone and physical characteristics of Peter's is very similar in many ways to the old Winstead's, a place where you would frequently see millionaires sitting side by side with the homeless.

Back in the late 80s or early 90s (same timetable too, come to think about it) some big outfit bought up the place and instituted more of a bright cheery 50s diner theme (blinding pink and green neon reflected against "quilted" stainless steel walls behind the counter, etc.). Once the expansion and redecorating process was complete, they promptly put up a bunch of pictures of the old place to show you how wonderful it was! I'll never understand that mentality.

They were smart enough to not mess with the food, but the total experience of a burger at Winstead's has never been the same.

Buddy