The history of the Monte Carlo turned out to be a bigger can of worms than I anticipated.  It turns out that the Monte Carlo was located in three different locations.  I’ll give a guess as to when they moved.

Resources

For this exercise I used the Minneapolis Star and Tribune online database, which is searchable and quite amazing.  Searching for something like “Monte Carlo” will get you to the South of France, likely as not, but if you are patient and crafty you might find something.

One way to discover the history of a building in Minneapolis is to look at the permit cards, which the Hennepin County Library has scanned and put online.  These are ever so much fun to read, and even with their limitations, they can still tell you much about the use of a building.

Here is the first location I found:

201-205 Washington Ave. N

According to the permit cards, this building has a fascinating history all its own.  In June 1885 it was apparently built as a store, but became one of the ubiquitous saloons of Washington Ave. from 1889 to 1891.  In September 1991 it’s listed as a hotel.

Now the county database says that it was built in 1900, but the card doesn’t say anything about the old structure being wrecked and a new structure being built.  However, it does have a huge transformation into an amusement hall/opera house/theatre from May 1900 to 1902.  Then comes a crazy back-and-forth between being a saloon and being more respectable establishments.  This may have to do with Minneapolis voting wet and dry alternately, like neighboring St. Louis Park did.  In between its saloon days, it could be a tailor shop, theatre, store, restaurant, and even a warehouse.

And then we find this.

 

Not sure what the relationship was between Marie Critelli and Steve Critelli, and not sure what a Ravole is, but this is gold!   I found evidence of the Monte Carlo at this address through April 1938.

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14 N 5th Street

In April 1940 there are wantads for waitresses and dishwashers at the New Monte Carlo, located at 14 N 5th Street.  A look at the cards indicates that this building was built in 1884 as a store, and spent most of its life as some sort of private club?  A “club room” is mentioned often, and I like the dumbwaiter.  The address does not come up in the county’s database, and google gives you a picture of a waiting station for the light rail.  A restaurant uses the address, but it’s part of another building that the county says was built in 1927.  This location is of little importance, though, since the Monte Carlo was ensconced in its permanent location at 219 3rd Ave N by December 3, 1940.

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217-219 Third Ave. N

Here’s the rundown on the current Monte Carlo.  It appears to have moved to this address in December 1940, and gone by the name Monte Carlo Cafe until August 25, 1952.

A house was built on the spot in 1887, and was wrecked in 1910.  In about March 1910, a Saloon and flat and store were built on the site.

An entry from 1915 shows that  work was done to create a showroom, office, and warehouse in the space.

In 1917 it was briefly a hotel.

An entry from May 1920 shows it was a factory.  Saloons were out at the beginning of 1920 because of Prohibition, so why  not?

In August 1930 alterations were made to make it into a store.

Ah!  Prohibition was over in April 1934, at least for 3.2 beer, and an entry dated April 3, 1934 shows work to make the space into a cafe.  Later in July it was more specifically a bar cafe, and beer parlor.

Seems to be a gap here – in 1947 alterations were made to the storefront.

In 1949 some upgrades to the kitchen were made.  Air conditioning was added in 1955.

In 1960 there were alterations to the front entrance of the “tavern and cafe,” and in 1970 there was a remodel to the second floor.

 

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STEVE CRITELLI

In a column dated February 6, 1979, Jim Klobuchar said that Steve Critelli bought the old saloon 30 years ago, making it 1949.  This is a head scratcher, since the woman who apparently started the Monte Carlo was a Critelli.

Critelli was born in Italy, raised in Brooklyn, and served honorably in World War II.  He was a golfer and president of the Wirth Golf Men’s Club at one time.  He was a great friend of Klobuchar, who mentioned him often in his column in the Minneapolis Star.

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LIVE MUSIC

The first ad for live music I found was dated August 3, 1967.  It was identical to the one below.

 

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Steve Critelli sold the Monte Carlo in about October 1980.  He died on November 18, 1981.   His loyal friend Jim Klobuchar wrote touching columns on both occasions.  Steve’s wife Marion died on October 30, 1998.

 

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JOHN RIMARCIK

The Monte Carlo was purchased by John Rimarcik.  In 1968 Rimarcik was the owner of the Peacock Tavern House and was spearheading an effort to have Minneapolis’s Patrol Limits removed from the City Charter. In 1978 he was the owner of Annie’s Parlour and the Convention Grill.  In the late ’70s he was a restaurant consultant.

Rimarcik carried out extensive renovations and transformed the Monte Carlo into a destination restaurant popular with locals and tourists alike.