I have an account in the Twin Cities who I like to go out to eat with. He's turned me on to a number of restaurants over the years and when I told him that I wanted to go out to dinner on my upcoming visit to Minneapolis, I asked him to figure out a place we could go. He picked out a place in Minneapolis' Seven Corners area of the West Bank called Republic. He said it had a great craft beer selection and was one of his favorite places to eat. We met up there on a cool fall Wednesday evening around 7 p.m.
The Cedar-Riverside neighborhood on the west bank of the Mississippi River in which encompasses Seven Corners is a historically cultural melting pot of immigrants primarily from Scandinavia, but Germans and Eastern Europeans also moved into the area in the early to mid-20th century. By the 50's, the area had gotten a little seedy with a number of bars lining the streets. However, by the late 60's, Seven Corners sort of became the focal point of the counter-culture movement fostered by students at the nearby University of Minnesota. More bars popped up in the area in the 70's that would cater to students and one of the more popular ones was a place called Sgt. Preston's. Along with Bullwinkle's and Grandma's, Sgt. Preston's - famous for their 100 ounce "fishbowl" drinks and pizza buffet - Seven Corners was the place to hang on the West Bank if you were a college student.
Developers, however, began to see the area as much more than a place for college kids to meet up. Grandma's closed in 2008 and the building was demolished for condo's, Bullwinkle's closed in early 2011 (it reopened in 2016 under new ownership), and a handful of more craft beer-centric establishments began to pop up in the neighborhood. Undergrads who frequented the bars were being replaced by young professionals and graduate students who were living in new housing that had popped up in the neighborhood. A new owner had purchased Sgt. Preston's in 2008 and changed the name to Preston's Urban Bar. The new owner tried to make it more of a craft beer bar, but the aged and tired place couldn't sustain the level of business needed to turn the tide. But two guys who had been friends since high school - Matty O'Reilly and Rick Guntzel - saw an opportunity in the location when they bought Preston's in the spring of 2011.
Matty O'Reilly was a good athlete growing up - he even felt he may have had a chance at a professional basketball career until a shoulder injury ended that notion. He thought that he may become a teacher and a coach, but that really never came to fruition, either. He had been working in restaurants all through high school and into his college years at Hamline University in St. Paul. But his cousin, Tom Peterson, was really the one who opened up the restaurant world for O'Reilly. Peterson had been in the restaurant industry for a number of years helping O'Reilly get jobs at places that Peterson worked for. In 2004, Peterson and O'Reilly opened 318 Cafe, a small cafe/coffeehouse that also presented live musical performances from time to time. From there, Peterson and O'Reilly opened Aster Cafe, a slightly larger restaurant and live music venue than 318 Cafe, but with the same m.o.
Pictured right - Matty O'Reilly. Photo courtesy Opentable - Open for Business blog site.
When Preston's came up for sale, O'Reilly recruited his longtime friend, Rick Guntzel, to help him with the venture. When the two took over the business, they had to do most of the work by themselves as they only were able to get about $25,000 each to put into the place. O'Reilly and Guntzel took down the dozens of tacky looking beer posters, took out the video games, and the multiple flat-screen televisions that were tuned to sports from the time the doors were opened to the time they were locked. They found that the original tin panels were still in the ceiling and left them exposed. But after taking down a huge sign behind the bar touting Preston's pizza buffet, they found a beautiful multi-colored stained-glass window that they couldn't believe previous owners had kept hidden. He did away with the huge fish bowl drinks that were popular with college students and put in a 32 tap system that would serve craft beers. And with a new name and concept, Republic opened in June of 2011.
Not everyone was happy with Republic's appearance at Seven Corners. The clientele who had been coming there for years for fishbowls and to watch sports didn't like the changes. O'Reilly and Guntzel had even kept the big game mounts of deer, beer and buffalo heads to kind of keep some reminder of Preston's, but it never really went over with the old regulars. But it didn't take long for others to discover Republic who soon got a reputation as being a place where students, young professionals and every day people could come in and get a good meal along with a craft beer at a fair price. And starting in 2013 and every year since, Draft Magazine named Republic as one of the top beer bars in America.
(In 2016, Republic partnered with SSP America, which operates restaurants at nearly three dozen airports around the U.S. and Canada, to open a location at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. Matty O'Reilly was (and/or, still is) also involved in other restaurants around the Twin Cities such as Red River Kitchen, Como Park Eatery (now called Spring Cafe), The Strip Club (steak and seafood), Bar Brigade, and Delicata.)
I had a bit of trouble finding parking around Republic as there are a number of other businesses in the area. (see map) I was able to find some on-street parking on S. 3rd St. about a block and a half away from Republic. When I walked up through the courtyard where S. 3rd., Cedar and Washington come together and past the outdoor patio, I saw my friend out front talking on the phone. As I walked past him and gave him a fist bump, he mouthed, "I'm sitting at the bar."
Once inside, I found a long walnut-faced bar with antique-style lights overhead that they dimmed later in the evening - it was almost too dark in there to eat. The very ornate back bar had the wonderful stained glass window toward the top. A row of high-top tables were opposite the bar along a brick wall. There was a back dining room and an upstair area at Republic. It was a weeknight and there was a smattering of patrons throughout the place. One of the larger tables toward the back had a party of 8 or 10 people who were pretty boisterous. It was actually a very nice place with stately decor.
I found where my guest was seated - the only empty seat at the bar with a beer in front of it, I guessed correctly. He came in to greet me and our bartender came over to greet me. He gave me a listing of beers they had on tap and I took a quick look through it. The tap list was pretty extensive - it featured about 60 different types of beers, ciders, sours and seltzers available. They had beer flights available if you wanted to try different types of beers. Many of the beers were local or from Midwest craft brewers, but they did have beers on tap from Crooked Stave (Denver), Ballast Point, and Stone (both from San Diego).
I asked if I could try just a couple and the bartender was amenable to that. I got a small sample of the Lupulin Hooey IPA out of Big Lake, MN, a small town north and west of the Twin Cities. I also tried the Bell's Official Hazy IPA which wasn't all that hazy. But it was good. I did like the Lupulin Hooey IPA, however. (So much so, that I picked some up at Total Wine and More the next day to take home with me.) My guest was drinking the Lulupin Hazy IPA that they had on special that evening for $4 a pint. It was a seasonal beer and they were trying to get it out of their rotation so they could start putting in other seasonal beers for the fall.
The food menu at Republic was varied, but it wasn't all that deep. They had a number of burgers and sandwiches on the menu, as well as a handful of tacos including fish tacos and Korean-style barbecue duck tacos. The short entree list featured grilled salmon, blackened walleye and a beer-battered fish and chips. Appetizers such as chicken wings and poutine were available, as were a few salads including a steak salad and a Korean duck salad.
I was sort of intrigued by some of the burgers and sandwiches - the Wisconsin Cleanse Diet burger had cheese curds and melted beer cheese on top of a beef patty. They also had a ground duck and pork burger on the menu, along with a bacon, fried egg, lettuce and tomato sandwich. The Rodeo Clown burger featured a beef patty topped with pulled pork, cheddar cheese, an onion ring and barbecue sauce. It was a pretty interesting menu, to say the least.
My guest got the buttermilk fried chicken breast sandwich. It was topped with a spicy cole slaw and served with an aioli on the side along with French fries. He said the chicken breast was tasty and had a nice outer crunch with each bite.
In the long run, I figured out that I didn't really want to get a sandwich or a burger, so I went with the pulled pork and rice bowl. Curiously, however, there was no rice underneath the generous amount of pulled pork in the bowl. Actually, it didn't really matter to me as the pulled pork was topped with corn strips, and a fried egg, with black beans, red peppers and poblano peppers mixed in. A large slice of avocado came on the side. It was actually very good. The bartender said, "You probably want some Cholula with that," when I ordered it. He definitely read my mind. The Cholula added an additional flavor spark to an already yummy dish.
I have to say that I was impressed all around with my visit to Republic. Their tap list was extensive with a lot of variety, their food menu was concise and interesting, and the atmosphere was laid back and comfortable. My guest thoroughly enjoyed his buttermilk fried chicken breast sandwich, while I have nothing but good things to say about the barbecued pulled pork bowl - even though it was advertised as having rice with it, but there was no rice in the bowl. But that really didn't matter because - along with the corn strips, the black beans and peppers mixed in with a fried egg on top with a Cholula enhancement - it was still a very good meal. My friend did it again - he turned me on to another great little place to eat in Minneapolis.
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