Mr. Harry’s Liquor Lounge, also known as Mr. Harry’s or Harry’s Bar, was located at 229 W. Broadway at Washington Ave. in Minneapolis.

229 W. BROADWAY

The building goes back to 1885, when it was built with three stories with an address of 227-229 W. Broadway.  In the usual style, people lived in apartments in the stories above, and there were storefronts on the ground floor.  227 W. Broadway appears to have been a barber shop for a very long time.

In 1890 the building hosted a saloon, according to permit records

In 1929 it was a radio store.

In 1932 it was Pliam Linoleum.

In 1934 it was a cafe.

In 1937 it was a “beer parlor,” possibly Rudy’s Place.

In October 1949, the top two stories were removed.  I could not find a reason.

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BOFFERDING’S BAR

In 1950/1951, it was either  the Bofferding and Cronkhite Bar, or the Crohkhite and Bofferding Bar.  Jacob (Jake) Bofferding and E.J. Cronk(h)ite – papers weren’t too reliable on spelling in those days.  Jake Bofferding had been a grocer at 329 Plymouth Ave. on the North Side since 1916.

By January 1957 it was just Bofferding’s Bar.  A fire damaged the building – called a North Minneapolis Landmark – on January 19, 1957.

In January 1961, Edward C. Bofferding died at the age of 47.  He was identified as the owner of Bofferding’s Bar.

In 1967 the bar underwent a major rehabilitation, adding air conditioning.  Excess bar equipment was advertised for sale.

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MR. HARRY’S LIQUOR LOUNGE

Harry Skrypec took over the bar in about May 1969, advertising for bartenders:  “must not drink.”  George Kottes was the manager.

In January 1971 we know the place had music, or at least used to – robbers broke in and tied Mr. Harry, Kottes, and a third person to the bandstand and stole a bunch of money.

Another renovation appears to have gone on in August 1971, with an ad for equipment for sale.

The last ad for bartenders for Mr. Harry’s was dated July 10, 1980.

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BJ’s LIQUOR LOUNGE

Jerry Bjurstrom opened BJ’s Liquor Lounge in 1980. BJ’s was a neighborhood bar like any other, with one added feature: topless dancers. Behind the bar, topless women with beatific smiles gyrate on a stage. With no cover and standard $20 lap dances performed out in the open, what you see is what you get at BJ’s. There are no hidden rooms with off-menu services, and strippers walk with 100 percent of their tips. This strip club/dive bar knows not to meddle with a good formula, and that’s why its clientele is almost entirely composed of regulars.  When it opened, the city had not yet passed its strict adult entertainment zoning laws, which now confine such activities to a few parcels of land downtown. In February 2018, Jerry Bjurstrom died. His son Brian Bjurstrom inherited the business.

The City put a 2020 deadline on stripping at the club, and the last day was December 23, 2019.  A developer was in negotiations to purchase the building and the other property that Bjurstrom owned in the vicinity.  As of December 2020, no indication of changing hands is seen on the Hennepin County database since 2003.