Jolly Green Giant

This restaurant at 8301 Normandale Blvd. in Bloomington went through a head-spinning number of iterations.  The building was built in 1971, sits on 2 1/2 acres, last sold for $5 million in 2006, and belongs to a couple in California.

This is what I’ve gleaned from Facebook:

JOLLY GREEN GIANT

This was a restaurant/bar that was apparently so-named because employees of the nearby Green Giant corporate headquarters would eat there.  It had a green roof, and when you walked in you could see the Giant’s big boots and his big chair.  And you’d better eat  your peas!

Barbara Flanagan mentioned the “new” Jolly Green Giant Restaurant in her December 16, 1969, column.  This does not jibe with the 1971 date of the building, and Alan Freed says there was another one?  Stay tuned.

Identical ads were in the Minneapolis papers in December and June 1972

Courtesy Alan Freed

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HENRICI’S

This venue was around in December 1973.

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STONEWINGS

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TONY ROMA’S

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MAJOR’S

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POOR RICHARD’S COMMONHOUSE