RE-discover. RE- kindle. Re- purpose, past food STUFF

Disclaimer- Please, don’t pass judgement on the photos you are about the see. They are as old as dirt.

216 1st Ave SW [specifically 216 1/2]

Happy hour circa 1993

What was your cocktail of choice when you were a kid? And I say “kid” because the drinking age was 18 when I was 18 and I was a kid. 

Read on.

I was a beer girl 99% of the time. But I tried different cocktails. A gimlet was a usual choice. But Wild Turkey and grapefruit juice had a run for a while, or maybe it was a night. 

I know… 

I accidentally ordered it. I was looking for Southern Comfort and grapefruit juice. So Southern Comfort, oh! so much better?! Really, it was the grapefruit juice I was after. Kind of.  

So this is just one of many, many memories at Newts, the original, the flagship store at 216 1/2 1st Ave SW.

So yeah, Hefe Rojo closed a couple months ago. It's not even news anymore. And I don't know, [sorry, not sorry] BUT, Hefe Rojo gone? hmm, not sure I can get terribly choked up over tacos, but that’s me. Now burritos… No doubt though, it had a cool vibe in a historic building. 

OK, I’m just worked up over the reporting of Hefe Rojo closing. Besides, I told you there would be a little smack talk here.

There was bigger news to report.

The OG Newts closed! With barely even a peep about it. 

Seriously, it was THE oldest restaurant in Rochester, actually in Olmsted Country, I would venture to guess, and JZ started it 43 years ago. I get there’s still a Newts but not downtown.

Sigh. 

I didn't expect the feelings I would have.

Note: JZ has been out of the Creative Cuisine Restaurants for quite some time. Once in a while, people still think there's a connection, but even that is starting to fade. 

Get this, so JZ just happened to be standing out in front of Hefe in October when a news reporter came up to see what the average guy on the street thought about Hefe closing. Mr. Zumbey remarked it was a shame about Newts closing. Maybe even halfway, assuming she may see that as sad news. 

Nope, right over her head, and I assume everyone else at the news station. Later that night the report made no correction on the name being misspelled or acknowledgment that this is the guy that started it all. Kind of a kick in the ass, so to speak. Sorry, Mr. Zumbey, you just aren't that cool anymore. 

I'm gonna do this for me, and if you'd like to take a little walk down memory lane, come along. For those that don't care, your exit is here. Check out another blog post about The Hubble House; it may be worth a chuckle or two. 

My husband, Jerry Zubay, and his business partner Mike Currie created and founded Newts. There's a bit of history at 216 before Newts. 

Back off girls, he’s mine. But what a hunk though, right?!

This is according to Olmsted County assessor records, and a destination study by PVN from Minneapolis. The study is super interesting and full of great historic info. Check it out at rochestermn.gov
Quoted from the study: 216 1st Avenue South was built in 1895; however, Sanborn maps show a building existing at this location in 1884. For much of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the building was occupied by a marble & granite business. In 1931, this business was replaced by Holland's Food Shop, established in 1907 by Ernest Holland. 

This is one of the oldest photos we have and actually looks the best!

Later Hollands was acquired by Ernest’s son Newton Holland in 1925. Sometime in the 1930s or 40s, Newton Holland converted the grocery store into a cafeteria and art gallery 

Well, Newton was definitely ahead of his time! Showcasing local art! 

In addition to featuring the works of local Minnesota artists, the cafeteria played radio broadcasts of pipe organ recitals for patrons. In 1953, a second story was added to the building to provide more dining space. In 1958, Holland sold his business to Leon Latz, but the cafeteria continued to operate through the end of the period of significance.

Then Jerry and Mike bought it from Leon Latz and opened The Bank Restaurant in 1978, a day after that big historic flood. I plan on touching base with Bank Restaurant in the future. I actually worked there.

Hollands at the time of purchase. The Bank Restaurant July, 9 1978.

When The Bank Restaurant opened in 1978, the upstairs space became The Bank Restaurant Lounge. It was a late 70s swanky lounge with a Bank theme. Unlike downstairs, the waitresses...

I know… but I'm just getting into the era there rarely was a waiter and staff worked for IBM. We were waitresses.

Anyway, we wore black pants and suspenders rather than long elegant skirts downstairs at The Bank. We also wore chokers at The Bank, another story, another time. 

The decor at Bank Restaurant Lounge was super cool for the time, and a lot of it still survives up there today. The back bar came from a barbershop in the Zumbro Hotel the sister hotel to the Kahler. The Zumbro was located now where the Marriott is. The back bar at Newts spanned the north wall but was later partially deconstructed to add windows. Pieces of it were mirrors and were put on the south wall across from the bar. Along the east wall in the lounge was a humidor purchased from John Kruesel, who also found the back bar. I confirmed with John the humidor came from Hueys Cigar Store at the time, located at 330 S Broadway, soon to be home to Marrow. 

Yay! Marrow. 

That humidor has a special place in my heart. I love old stuff. It later made its way to City Cafe and was set to be 86'ed when I put it in storage with the hope I'd find a home for it. I did. It's now in the basement of the Porch building in the original space of Cellar. That was to be its forever home because we didn't go in thinking the business would close. 

Second Sigh.  

It was secured to the wall and gently cleaned and polished. I filled it with little mementos and some junque. Unfortunately, it is very fragile and probably won't survive another move. 

Third Sigh. 

Here it is in Cellar and yes that me taking a poor photo.

The biggest, or shall I say, heaviest addition to the Bank Restaurant Lounge was the marble wainscot on the walls. The marble was purchased from the 1st National Bank, located across First Ave. I'm guessing the marble itself back then was quite old even back then. I always heard the slabs had to be hoisted and brought in through the upstairs front windows of Newts. My not-yet-boyfriend at the time, JZ, was in the thick of the move. Literally, with help, carried the slabs across 1st Ave at 2nd street lights. At that corner, one of the marble pieces slipped and smashed his hand really damaging his index finger. Rumor has it he wrapped his hand up in a shirt right there and walked over to the Methodist Hospital emergency room. Well, he was 21. He did require surgery and, to this day, has little feeling in that finger. Also, interestingly enough, he learned to not use that finger and continues to this day to keep his finger poised in the air when he eats and drinks. Watch him sometime. And even weirder, all our kids do it too. 

The Bank Restaurant Lounge did open and drew a good happy hour crowd. At the time, I occasionally would cocktail up there [the waitress]. It was noisy, and the drinks flowed. We were the watering hole for The Chamber of Commerce, located right next door in Wellington Square. That is precisely where I am sitting at the moment. 

Happy Hour was two-for-one drinks and a whole buffet spread of free food! Tacos were the giveaway of the time. Ground Round was doing it, so we did too. We also cubed up enormous amounts of cheese, introducing ourselves to pepper jack cheese for the first time! It was so spicy but so good. 

This is the best I could do for lounge photos. Trust me there was some swank going on. Also this is Don, he played in the lounge and was an amazing guitarist.

Many bars were offering 2-for-1 drinks, but then started to back off one by one. The Bank Restaurant Lounge was losing its spark. Jerry and Mike then decided to do a small bar with sandwiches and HAMburgers something completely opposite the Bank Restaurant. I don't even recall the first menu being really much about burgers. Burgers were just another sandwich option like all other bars.

This was 1980, and now JZ was officially my boyfriend. He loved [now classic] rock and roll that wasn't played as often on the radio. Little Feat, Cactus, Gypsy, Robin Trower, Mandrill, and Rick Wakeman. He worked on recording all that on a reel to reels. It was a major feat and became a thing Newts was known for. During the remodel, we hung out up at Newts, drinking beer. Lots of beer. We would listen to great music and sample menu items, JZ was creating.

We were well into our third, maybe even fourth, pitcher on December 8, 1980, when on the radio, the news John Lennon had been killed. That was one of those things that you remembered where you were, what you were doing when that happened. 

Maybe the Newts menu in the beginning, was not that memorable. But we had just gotten an Arby's in town. Fast food, even then, was limited to only a few options. Arby's had a horsey sauce, mayo, and horseradish, and we loved it. To the day, an Arby's roast beef with horsey sauce is such a nostalgic thing I'll eat one once in a while. With an addition of a little drizzle of Arby's sauce, not BBQ sauce, gross, it has to be the Arby's sauce. 

There you go Arby's, secret menu item. You are welcome. 

My all-time favorite item at Newts was a hot ham and cheese sandwich on an onion roll with our horseradish mayo sauce. I am going to share the recipe. PS- This is the past food part, aren’t you glad you came a long?

Per Sandwich:

Split an onion roll, set aside. Add about 4 ounces of thinly sliced ham and Swiss cheese to a microwave-safe dish. Microwave for 30 seconds until ham is warm and cheese is all melty. Drizzle on the horseradish mayo sauce. Press to squish. 

The menu developed over time, and the focus did become burgers. Mike can be credited with really researching fat content and griddling techniques. Jerry can be credited with his awesome free seasoning I so crave to this day. Long been deleted. 

Not the FIRST menu because no ham and cheese but by then we went all the way Arby’s with a roast beef. And no chips are not fifty-five dollars that’s cents.

Some other fun facts: 

In the beginning, JZ was bartender. I mean, he did go to bartending school in the Twin Cities. He's the one that poured me the wild turkey and grapefruit juice without even flinching. I may or may not have grabbed his attention in another way, or it could be the customer is always right. 

In the early '80s, arcade games were added. Space Firebirds was the game of choice. The bartender Ron Snater mastered it, but JZ was right behind him. There was a special arcade room and the amount of quarters in pickle buckets dragged to the bank was impressive. 

Tim Waby worked the bar for many, many years after. Somewhere along the way, people sent him and Newts a postcard when they went on vacation. They came from everywhere, and they were fun. They started out just getting tucked in the mirror behind the bar but started piling up. So I made copies, and we created The Post Card Club Books. The originals were framed and lined the walls at the entrance. 

I’m thinking Tim won Best Bartender more than once.

The menu had a backside where you could add your own personal graffiti. Sometimes there were spectacular drawings and, of course, all sorts of "jokes." 

Pretty interesting drawing

Caution read at your own risk.

There was always a little finessing going on with the decor. The carpet and wallpaper and Tiffany lamps never went away. At one point we decided to add fun old-time photos. We purchased a few, and then we got a great idea from our graphic artist, Jay Highum, to use family pics. It started with his family. Later, we added personal ones of our own. My grandfather worked for Mae West on Coney Island, so there are some interesting ones with him and his buddies. My paternal grandfather, who barely left the farm near Stewartville, MN, can be found snoozing after Thanksgiving dinners in several candid photos. JZ's parents were also added, as were aunts, uncles, and cousins. 

Newt’s Tiffany lamp.

And Newton Holland's portrait was added to the back bar. I was going to include it here but sadly I can’t find it.

Along the way Bank Restaurant changed to Henry Wellingtons which ushered in a new kind of restaurant. It was instantly successful and really paved the way for the next generation of restaurants in downtown Rochester. At the time most of Rochesters restaurants were local, no chains, not even a TGI Fridays. Which by the way, would have terrified us. They were so popular we would drive up to the cities just to experience one. But, restaurants like fashion change and the fern bar era ended and a need for a big city feel came. Next up, City Cafe. And then Hefe Rojo. 

But Newts literally hung in there though it all.

What now?  You may say I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one. However, I’m not the one to tell the next story but, there will be a next story. I hope someday you will join them.

BTW, did I tell you Newts was named after Newton Holland? Imagine, it’s easy if you try.