Band Box Diner
Band Box Diner | |
---|---|
Restaurant information | |
Established | 1939 |
Owner(s) | Brad Ptacek |
Head chef | Brad Ptacek |
Food type | American |
Dress code | Casual |
Street address | 729 South 10th Street |
City | Minneapolis |
County | Hennepin |
State | Minnesota |
Postal/ZIP Code | 55404 |
Country | United States |
Coordinates | 44°58′08″N 93°15′48″W / 44.96889°N 93.26333°W |
Seating capacity | 13[1] |
Other information | Founders Harry and Bert Weisman, aka Wyman[2] |
The Band Box Diner is the oldest operating
The name "Band Box" comes from
The restaurant buildings were made by the Butler Manufacturing Company, which was more well known for making agricultural bins, prefabricated structures, and feed storage for farming. Butler buildings were easier to erect than standard truss buildings, and they were also strong enough to be portable. The buildings were designed with floor-to-ceiling double-sided steel panels, measuring 26 feet by 23 feet. They had flat roofs and windows running along the front facade. During World War II, Butler Manufacturing Company shifted to war production, and then afterward turned to designing steel buildings for industrial, commercial, and agricultural use. They did not build any other diners, though. The interiors were in the Art Deco style with Streamline Moderne influences, with a stainless-steel grill, a long counter with six to eight stools, and a few booths or tables. The diners were open 24 hours a day at the beginning. [4]
One business decision stemmed from racial prejudice. The couple had originally been known as Harry and Bert (short for Bertha) Weisman, but they changed their names to Wyman because of the pervasive antisemitism in Minneapolis at the time. Jewish people in Minneapolis were suffering from widespread discrimination in housing, employment and social organizations.[4]
According to a 1988 article, in the Star Tribune newspaper, "Old timers remember" when the restaurant was "a drop-off for numbers money" and "when Kid Cann, the notorious gangster, used to sit at a table in back and play cards."[5]
The building was designated as a local landmark by the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission in 2000.[6]
In popular culture
The diner makes an appearance in the introduction scene of the Pere Ubu video for their song Waiting For Mary
References
- ^ Thorkelson, Berit (15 December 1998). "Minneapolis' oldest diner has rich history, coffee". Skyway News.
- ^ Brandt, Steve (30 May 2000). "Band Box:To know it is to love it". Star Tribune.
- ISBN 0-87351-540-4.
- ^ a b c O'Neill, Kathleen (Winter 2005). "The Band Box Hamburger Shops: Minneapolis's First Homegrown Diner Chain". Hennepin History. Hennepin History Museum: 4–19.
- ^ Peterson, Brian (28 August 1988). "The Band Box". Star Tribune, Newspaper of the Twin Cities: 6–11.
- ^ Brandt, Steve (May 30, 2000). "Band Box: To know it is to love it". Star Tribune.