This venue was discovered through a photograph in the archives of the Minnesota Historical Society.  It was described as taking place at the Crown Cafe, but there were several of them, so where was this?

To the rescue came Duane Jensen, who put together the following  combination of memories of his father, whose first job was distributing flyers for the place, newspaper articles (not cited – probably from St. Paul papers that Duane researched), and court papers.

NICK CROWN

“Nick’s Crown Café” was named for Nick Crown and his wife Lillian.  His friends called him Nick “the Greek” Crown and his son was known as “Little Nick.”  Nick was of Greek heritage although he was born in South Africa.  He came to Minneapolis and worked for his uncle in his candy store.  One evening after the store closed, Nick returned and opened the basement safe removing the contents.  He was soon caught because the safe was opened using the combination, known to only a few workers.

This was not his last exposure to the law. Shortly before WWI, Nick began dating a young waitress.  One night they drove to St. Paul to party and then returned to Minneapolis where they checked into a hotel as Mr. and Mrs. Kaiser Wilhelm, the name of the Emperor of Germany.  Unfortunately for Nick, the girl was underage and Nick had to do time in Stillwater Prison. The trial for dating an underaged girl is recorded at the Minnesota Historical Society, complete with testimony from the girl’s mother, Nick’s arresting officer, and Nick’s employer. Stillwater Prison had an entrance and exit exam of Nick’s condition but no photograph, damn!  Nick gained weight while in prison and kept his short, roly-poly shape for the rest of his life.

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NICK’S CROWN CAFE

By 1925 Nick had a grocery store at 2304 Central Ave. NE , and by 1931 he moved the store to 2500 W. Larpenteur at Eustis, which was outside the St. Paul city limits in Rose Township at the time. Jeff Neuberger points out that E. Hennepin (as written on the picture) turns into Larpenteur.

By 1935 the place was a combination meat market, grocery store, and 3.2 tavern called the Crown Cafe.

Hawaiian music was popular in the 1930s and Nick hired “Gene’s Surf Riders” to perform as a “Hawaiian” band.   And thus we solve the mystery of the photo of Gene’s Surf Riders!

 

 

Chip Holk of the Historic Minneapolis Minnesota Facebook page had posted this great photo.  MHS identified it as such:

“Gene’s Surf Riders,” Filipino-American musicians playing at the Crown Cafe, East Hennepin, Minneapolis. Unknown date.

Members of the band were identified as :

Gene Laguban
Victor Maglellan
Rupert Santiago
Andy Viray

And just because there is a second photo of the band, let’s put that one up too:

 

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The intersection of Eustis and Larpenteur was hopping with three bars.  Perley Bagge owned a bar of the northwest corner.  It was mostly filled with men.  The Crown Café on the southwest corner had a mixture of men and women patrons.  The Barnes Café on the northeast corner had many booths and a nice dance floor, a place you’d prefer to take your lady.

On December 21, 1936, his store caught on fire and Nick called police and fire from both St. Paul and Minneapolis. He said later he would have called the Marines too but didn’t have their phone number.  (date from Minneapolis Journal)

In 1941 Nick put in a classified ad selling 11 booths.

In the 1940s Nick was accused of selling liquor to an underaged sailor. Nick avoided conviction because the sailor had been sent off to war when the trial came up.

On June 29, 1944, the Minneapolis Star reported that the Rose Township council approved three tavern renewals for Ramsey County commissioners’ approval, but residents protested renewal of three taverns (very close together) located at 2499, 2500, and 2505 Larpenteur.  The licenses of these three taverns expired before the Township council met again.  This may have been the end of Nick’s.

Duane’s dad says,

I want you to know that Nick Crown was well liked in the neighborhood. If nothing else he was appreciated as a neighborhood “character.”

When Hwy 280 was built in the 1950s, Nick’s home was displaced by the highway.  Nick Crown moved to Hollywood where he spent the rest of his life.

Thank you, Duane and Dad!