Bullwinkle's Saloon in Seven Corners Minneapolis is Closed

Per their Facebook page, Bullwinkle's Saloon down in Seven Corners has closed its doors. 

What a sad day, indeed. 

I grew up with Bullwinkle's, literally.  In junior high my parents had season tickets to Gopher football, and a family friend had just bought the bar.  We would often go to Bullwinkle's before the game to have a "big dog," which would eventually morph into the famous Coney Island.  As time passed, I spent hours there pre and post game for Twins games (the Bullwinkle's parking lot was my favorite place to park), spent evenings there as a grad school student on the West Bank, and spent random weekend nights there with friends. 

I have a lot of memories of the place, but a couple stand out that I wanted to share: 

• Over the entire period, I always remarked at the music at Bullwinkle's.  When we first went there, they had a massive reel-to-reel system which spun tunes that impacted my impressionable mind.  As the years progressed, so did their technology and musical formats, but in all the years their soundtrack was simply outstanding.  Literally every time I was there I came away impressed by the quality of their mix. 
• At a Gopher football pre-game warm up with buddies, we were saddened to see a group in from Michigan State in the balcony that chose to fly the Spartan flag from said balcony.  As our beers imbibed increased, so did the noise coming from above us, as well as our agitation.  We ultimately hatched a plan to snatch the flag, which included setting up blockers on the stairs, at the door, as well as designating someone to rip the flag down and then pass it to a runner who was staged at the door.  I'm proud to report that our plan was executed flawlessly.  I wish the Gophers could have said the same against State. 
• My best Bullwinkle's story was attending it for Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.  The game was played Sunday night, so we arrived at 11:30 AM with the plan of securing a table early, watching the Vikings, the 3:00 NFL game, and then the Twins.  We got the best table in the house; upstairs, directly under the TV, and we camped there the entire Sunday.  The Twins game was a total nail-biter, the bar as full as it could have been (we had to be WAY over fire code), and the booze flowing, so when Gene Larkin performed his 10th inning heroics, the powder keg that existed in the bar completely exploded.  Bartenders hopped up atop the bar, armed with bottles of champagne, and proceeded to hose down the euphoric patrons.  It had to have been one of the top 10 happiest moments of my life. 

So good-bye, Bullwinkle's.  I wish I could have sent you off like we did with Al's Bar in St. Louis Park.  Thanks for being a part of my life for three decades.  You will be missed.