Road Buddy’s
Road Buddy’s Bar-B-Que was started by Chet Oden, who also owned the Ebony Lounge.
There were several Road Buddy’s locations:
386 WEST CENTRAL AVE.
This was at Western Ave. in St. Paul, 1949. The building may have also been known as La Bongo Club at one time.
23 WASHINGTON AVE. N
This location was mentioned in a crime report in the Minneapolis Star, August 19, 1950.
2925 HENNEPIN AVE.
This Minneapolis address was advertised as a Road Buddy’s in the St. Louis Park High Echo in February 1953 and there is a news item from October 4, 1952 identifying G.V. Wallace as the proprietor. (Minneapolis Tribune)
799 UNIVERSITY AVE.
This location was also in St. Paul. The building was built in 1922.
1975 photo of 799 University courtesy Minnesota Historical Society
The photo below indicates that the business dates back to at least 1950.
1950 photo of 799 University courtesy Minnesota Historical Society
THE EBONY LOUNGE
On the second floor of Road Buddies was an “after hours” venue that came to be known as the Ebony Lounge. In 1965 radio station KUXL took over this venue, turned it into an R&B disco with 14 “Go Go Foxes.”
A note in the Minneapolis Tribune dated December 10, 1965, said that “The discotheque scene at St Paul’s Ebony Lounge which disappeared a couple of weeks ago, is back in action, with much the same cast, at Big Al’s in Minneapolis. KUXL’s Preacher Paul is promoting it once more.”
From the beginning of 1966 to about March 1967, the Ebony Lounge hosted smooth rhythm & blues singers Bobby Lyle and Doris Hines.
Minneapolis Tribune, March 3, 1967
THE DEATH OF CHET ODEN
Chet Oden’s body was recovered on October 25, 1966, where he had drowned while duck hunting on the Sandy River, about three miles north of McGregor, Minnesota. He was 49.
When Chet Oden died, the 799 University location apparently shut down temporarily, but the ad below indicates that it reopened as Road Buddies Bar-B-Q and the Ebony Lounge on December 30, 1966.
Minneapolis Star, December 28, 1966
Articles in 1969 were referring to 799 University Ave. as the Ebony Lounge, not Road Buddy’s.
On July 28, 1969, Elmer Caldwell, 44, was shot and killed in a gunfight in the Ebony Lounge when his gun got caught in his handkerchief. He was the manager of the Rondo and Dale Rec, 616 Concordia Ave.
SUBSEQUENT VENUES
HARATA KEY CLUB
On November 26, 1974, it was reported that there was something called the Harata Key Club operating in the basement of the building. It was raided by the police on the 24th, and 22 men, 18 women, and a 17-year-old girl were arrested. Liquor and gambling equipment were confiscated. Four people were charged with operating a disorderly house, but most were fined $25 and let go. (Minneapolis Star, November 26, 1974)
THE THREE PIGS
By September 1978 the place was a Barbeque place called the Three Pigs, which got a scathing review in the Minneapolis Star.
CATHAY ISLAND
In February 1981, Will Jones reported that the place had become a Chinese place called Cathay Island, that still served good ribs. (Minneapolis Tribune, March 7, 1981)
CARAVELLE
Chinese and Vietnamese Restaurant: September 1985 to at least January 1990.
NGON
Ngon Vietnamese Bistro: 2010
Ngon Bistro
1319 WASHINGTON AVE. SO.
In light of the bad reputation his Key Club was getting, Chet Oden changed part of it into a Road Buddy’s with country entertainment. This was in early June 1961. Will Jones reported that the country theme only lasted about two weeks and then the exotic dancers returned, along with the great rhythm & blues and the Key Club name. You could still get that Road Buddy’s famous Bar-B-Que at the Key Club.
TEXA-TONKA SHOPPING CENTER
This location was at 8120 Minnetonka Blvd. in St. Louis Park from about June 1966 to 1968. On June 19, 1967, the St. Louis Park City Council denied Road Buddys a request for a public hearing to request a beer license, citing a petition from 33 citizens opposing said license.