Located in Roseville, Minnesota, almost smack dab in the middle of the Twin Cities metro area, Har Mar Mall opened in 1961. It was designed by the same company which built Apache Plaza in nearby St. Anthony and opened the same year (Apache Plaza failed as a mall and was torn down in 2004). However, unlike Apache Plaza, Har Mar Mall thrives, despite being less than a mile away from one of the Twin Cities’ most popular regional malls: Rosedale Center. It accomplished success by finding a retail niche and being purposely downmarket from Rosedale, and other Twin Cities traditional malls.
It wasn’t always this way. In 1981, a tornado swept through the Twin Cities area and damaged much of the area around the mall. Later, Har Mar Mall had fallen on rough times until about the mid-1990s, and decided to take on an experiment to see if it could still be viable in the 21st century. It failed to compete with the glitzier, bigger Rosedale Center just up the street and reinvented itself by replacing the anchors with big-box stores and off price, nontraditional anchors and stores. That’s not to say that Family Dollar and Shaniqua’s Wig Barn have set up shop; instead, very popular, upmarket as well as off-price anchors which usually set up in strip malls make up the eclectic mix of Har Mar Mall. The anchors are: Barnes and Noble, TJMaxx, Cub Foods (A chain grocery store based in the Twin Cities), Marshalls, and Northwestern Bookstore. Until the early 00s there was also a large Mars Music, but that closed with the entire chain. There’s also an 11-screen movie theater, a pet store, a phone store, a local book store, and much more. Instead of a food court, Har Mar has both fast food and sit-down restaurants tucked back at one end of the mall. Uniquely, all the fast food and sit-down establishments both have mall access as well as outdoor entrances.
Other design features make Har Mar truly unique and intriguing. The floorplan of the mall consists of a series of right angles, so the mall continuously zig-zags. In all, there are 4 separate hallways from the food area to Cub Foods. The longest and most interesting hallway is the corridor with Barnes and Noble. It is massively wide, and features an arched ceiling with large windows allowing natural light to come in during the day. There’s also a small basement court here with a community room. Another weird part of the mall is the hallway between the food and Marshall’s. About halfway down, it inexplicably becomes a ramp, making Marshall’s and the rest of the mall from that point several feet lower. It’s much more dramatic in person, much like the continuous sloping of the Dartmouth Mall near New Bedford, Mass.
I visited the mall and took these pictures in March, 2000. I’ve visited more recently and it hasn’t changed. It continues to be a popular center for mostly locals to watch a movie, buy groceries, get books, and go out to eat. It’s essentially a strip mall cobbled together into an indoor mall, and for that reason alone it deserves merit. However, it’s also got a great floor plan and some wonderful design features so it’s even better. Har Mar Superstar, a performer from the area who took his name from the mall, would most certainly agree.
UPDATE 1/2/07: This entry about Har Mar and the closure of the theatres is featured in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Just wanted to clarify something about the tornado and Apache Plaza….
The tornadic activity that hit the area around the Har Mar Mall (but spared the mall itself) wiped out the southern part of the Apache Plaza. Many speculate that that single event was the beggining of the end for Apache Plaza (being closed for several months for repairs). but somehow Apache Plaza managed to hang on until 2004.
The real beginning of the end came in the early 90’s when Cub foods decided to buy a part of the mall and build a connected, no mall entry store. Without that link to the mall, the remainder of the tenants left (the exception being Herbergers (dept store).
Came up with some anchor history for you for Har Mar. A store called Hove’s used to be where cinemas 4-11 are. JCPenney closed 1977, later becoming Van Arsdell’s; it’s where Marshalls is now. Kresge and an adjacent National Food Store were gutted for more stores – I believe where the Barnes & Noble is now. Also there was a Snyder Drug at one point.
Oh yeah, and the theaters just closed.
Hove’s was the forerunner of Lunds Foods. Russell Lund, the founder, worked for Hove’s back in the 1930’s and 40’s and eventually bought a controlling interest in the chain. In 1964, he renamed them Lunds.
The only original tenant still in business from the first days of HarMar’s existence is a barbershop that is located on the north side of the complex.
Dave:
That was a different tornado that hit Apache. That tornado struck in April 1984. (And yes, that was the beginning of the end, even though it took 20 years for the end to finally come.)
The Har Mar tornado was June 1981.
I remember seeing TV ads as a kid in the 1960s on the “Clancy the Cop” kids’ show for stores at the Har Mar Mall, like Target and I think Jolly’s. Does anyone remember anything about a Jolly’s store, or whatever happened to it?
The only thing I remember about Jolly’s is that it was a hobby store, selling plastic models, model trains, RC cars, rock tumblers, etc. There was one still at Sun Ray probably ten years ago. Not sure what happened to them, they were probably a locally owned chained that faded out with popularity of hobbies.
I wanted to clarify one thing: Har-Mar Mall and Apache Plaza were both designed by the same architect, Willard Thorsen, but the projects had different funders. Apache Plaza was funded by the Apache Oil Company, Har-Mar was funded Harold and Marie (hence Har-Mar) Slawik who owned the Midway Ford dealership.
I remember Har Mar Mall in the mid and late-1980’s. Contrary to what most people have said, it had a lot of interesting stores like Jollys, Winona Knits, Great American Music later Record Town, an awesome pet store, and Foreman and Clark. It had at least a 75% vacancy back then
I’m not certain, but I think Har Mar was the mall that my family often went to for ice cream when I was young child. There was an unusual type of ice cream store there, if I’m remembering correctly. Can someone tell me the name of what that store was?
Angela
I just wanted to add to my above comment…this was in the early to mid ’80s.
I seem to remember there being a Shakey’s pizza parlor there too. Complete with banjo players and a old style candy counter where I recall getting a giant jawbreaker that I couldn’t even fit in my mouth and had to lick it down to size over several weeks.
John
The ice cream shop you are probably thinking of is Professors, where Buffalo WIld wings is now i believe. It was always a good mall to go to as a kid because it was not quite as big as Rosedale. Anyone have any thoughts on its business now that the movie theatres have moved?
I was just over at Har Mar (haved lived 2 blocks away for 16 yrs) and TJ Maxx, Northwestern Bookstore and several others are closing. Add that to the movie theatres gone already and the old Ground Round sitting empty. What do you suppose is going on?
On another note, Before Professor’s, wasn’t it Farrells and the lalapalooza?
And doues anybody remember that pizza(?) place with the big pipe organ in it?
I just wanted to add my wonderful memories of Har Mar mall. Har Mar has a wonderful history with the St.Paul Winter Carnival. In 1978 I was an an emlpoyee of a wonderful Har Mar mall dept. store called Field and Schlick.
Har Mar would have a pageant every year to select a Miss Har Mar Mall. I was lucky enough to win and then Har Mar sponsored me in the St. Paul Winter Carnival’s Queen of the Snows pageant. I became Princess of the East Wind and spent an entire year representing Carnival and the Har Mar Mall Buisness Assoc. It was great fun.
I cannot remember the owners last name, but Har Mar came from the owners first names-Harold and Marie.
I live in Omaha now and was listening to the radio and heard that a group called Har Mar superstar was performing here. I thought what are the odds of a group called Har Mar, so I went on their site and saw they were named after the mall. What a small world.
I think Har Mar originally was called “The Hub” and featured like four or five stores on the north end of the mall where TCF is. It was one of the first malls in the country. Behind it, my parents tell me, was a golf driving range. Later, the mall was buit as we know it today.
My memory is mostly from the late 60’s onward.
I remember when the theater was first built around 1970. It was two gigantic theaters and our junior high class went to a movie there as a field trip, we saw Lord of the Flies!
On the north end of the mall was a restaurant called Farrell’s ice cream parlor, famous for it’s festive, crazy atmosphere. After that it became Professors, and I think it was another name C G Brown’s(?) after that, now Buffalo Wild Wings. On the other end of the mall was a place that sold some of the best deep dish pizzas I’ve ever had in my life, I think it was called Cicero’s, and as I remember that is where the self playing pipe organs and musical instruments were.
S. S. Kresges used to be a really cool “dime store”. It was the forerunner of K-mart stores, owned by the same company. Towards the mall entrance they had a small cafe where you could order food. Towards
the back of Krege’s, near the outside door, they sold parakeets and Matchbox cars. Snyder’s drugs, further south in the mall also had a counter and where you could order food and beverages which was a fairly popular place in it’s day. Four of my friends and relatives worked at Snyders at one time or another, some working as cooks there.
There used to be a community room in the basement where there was a big cat show back around 1975. We took our beloved housecat “Charles” and to our amazement he won a prize!
I worked as a security guard at the mall in 1978 and had to turn on all the lights every night and turn them off in the morning. Perhaps I saw Pamela W (listed above) one day without realizing it! You wouldn’t believe how many switches there were. There was also a big dark room deep in the basement of Har Mar where the Unbelievably Huge furnace was located. Most of the security people were actually a bit uncomfortable about going way down there alone at night to do their rounds.
JC Pennys was a very nice major store in the mall and as a kid we always got our shoes and many school clothes there. There was Musicland, THE store to buy records. Fanny Farmer was there too.
In the parking lot Har Mar staged a number of attractions. I can recall sometime in the 80’s they had a jet fighter parked near the theater, and during the 60’s (?) they had circus elephants and other animals and novelties in the parking lot on the Snelling Ave side.
I can even remember back in the 1960’s when Midway Ford was located in the mall, near the east side mall entrance. I can still picture the brand new swoopy 1967 Mustang Cobra, cream colored with hood
pins sitting in the mall. Boy, wouldn’t that be cool to own today!
Up on the Northwest end, was United stores, Twin City Federal, (TCF), Woodcraft Hobby, Tent City, and a Liquor store. There was a childrens toy
store which was really awesome called the Pied Piper. Coast to Coast was also a major hardware store on that end. Also Roseville Bank (with one of the first drive through tellers around here) was located where Old
Chicago Pizza is.
Outside, Ground Round used to have boardwalks inside with peanut shells covering the floors. It was part of their atmosphere then. Before that it had an orange roof and was called Howard Johnson’s.
There used to be an outdoor “Postal Center” in the parking lot too, near Snelling.
The first-ever Target store was across the street (County B). Target tore it down in 2005 and built a SuperTarget.
I believe Cicero’s was the pizza place in Har Mar. Shakey’s was on the corner of Snelling and Larpenteur.
I could swear the pizza place at Har Mar was “Cibo’s”. Does anyone else remember this ?
I would like to make a correction the mall was at least 75% full in the mid-late eighties, it was a better place to shop then the dales, the dales were too pretentious, while Har Mar had a lot of wonderful childrens store.
It was a better place to shop then the dales, the dales were too pretentious, while Har Mar had a lot of wonderful childrens store.
Shame you couldn’t get an interior photo to Cub Foods…I enjoy a good clear shot of a grocery store interior entrance.
Wow, this brought back a lot of memories for me. I didn’t remember a lot about the mall until many of the things were mentioned here. Like the pipe organ….Wow! However, the Mall has been in and out of my life since I was very little through now (I’m in my early 30’s). It’s disappointing sometimes how things change. I hope the mall can be revived despite the leaving of many stores. Maybe some no-chain stores can make a mark again?
I have been going to Har Mar since the early 70’s when we moved to SE Minneapolis. The pizza place was indeed Ciceros (I remember some blind guy playing the organ), and the ice cream parlor was Farrell’s where we embarrassed my mother-in-law on her b-day one year (all the wait people would do a little routine in front of the “birthday person”). My question is, does anyone remember there being a Petter’s, probably in the earlier 1990s and somewhere around the location where I think that Mars music store was. I don’t think I imagined it, but at my age, anything is possible.
There was a Petter’s there..now I think there is a Schuller’s shoe store I just read an article today in the St. Paul Pioneer Press and it says there is new owners for Har Mar and they are kicking out a lot of stores-Sundays (ice cream store for 30 years); scrapbook store; etc. How sad…..kick out the little business owners for more big box retailers..I loved Cicero’s with the organ player as a child……Went to Farrell’s on my graduation night and ate a zoo with my friends!!!!….Loved Jolly’s toy store and Holm and Olson’s flower store. The pet store has always been there—good for them!!! Bought a lot of goldfish there!!!
I used to go to Cicero’s all the time. George Sumner was the blind organ player at the Har-Mar Cicero’s. He died around 1982?? and I think that Cicero’s location shut down soon after. There were 3 Cicero’s in all…I heard rumors that they shut down because the owner’s wife caught the owner and a waitress doing bad things together (LOL). I still have the live records of Mr. Sumner playing organ!!
I’m trying to rememer if back around 1965-70 if Har Mar had more than one story. My husband and I both are remembering it that way. We left the Twin Cities and went to live in Los Angeles. When we returned here for good in 2001 we noticed it is only one level. Maybe the sun fried our brains or was there another mall around that had two floors besides Rosedale.
har mar did have a dowstairs and still does but its just a security office now , i believe , but i remeber always going downstairs to the restrooms.
i remember farrels ice cream parlor with alll the big suckers and lollipops, when you walked in the front door, loked like willy wonka and the chocolate factory in there , very cool.
It’s sad to see everything closing at Har Mar! Since the summer, TJ Maxx, Northwestern Bookstore, Binding Memories, the Book Shop, Sunday’s Ice Cream Parlor, (and soon) Seasonal Concepts have all closed. I’m sure I’m forgetting a few. The mall management is not renewing thier leases. I’ve heard that Har Mar is going to take on more “up-scale” tenants. First, Har Mar’s charm has always been its uniqueness. Take that away, and you lose an existing customer base. Second, Rosedale, which is located right across the highway, already fill the “up-scale” niche for the area.
Hopefully no more of the Har Mar staple stores are forced out!
ALSO HAR MAR LOCK AND KEY; DOMINOS AND LUCILLE’S DOLLS AND GIFTS HAVE CLOSED…..VERY SAD……………SHAME ON THE NEW MANAGEMENT……PRETTY SOON NOTHING WILL BE LEFT…..
I live in Massachusetts now (Have lived there since Nov 91), and I will tell you that everywhere you go its the same thing over and over again Walmart, Home Depot, and Old Navy. I mean I lived in Plymouth, Mn as a kid, but went to church in New Brighton in the eighties. and went to the Har Mar Mall area a lot, there were so many unique stores, and now its seems like there is nothing because the —— corporate world loves to efface small independent business. The twin cities area also had many unique strip malls as well. Where have they all gone?
Yes, Diane… I was out near Larpenteur and Snelling on Saturday, and I noticed that ‘Har Mar Lock and Key’ has moved over there. It’s a shame that HAR MAR Lock and Key can’t actually be inside HAR MAR Mall.
I understand that business is business, and the mall management can do as they wish. But they have just about LOST my business! Best of luck for the relocations of the businesses that were kicked out!
I write a bi-weekly news program for CTV15- Roseville, called “The North Suburban Beat”. I’ve been tracking the happenings at Har Mar… the developer plans will certainly make it very new place.
But I would really like to interview one of you Har Mar lovers who remember the good old days of the mall. If you’re interested please call the CTV15 studios at (651) 792-7515 and ask the me.
Hey, I remember Farrel’s Ice Cream Parlor; I had my 9th birthday party there, 1970. Two clowns dressed like medics raced out of the prep area with this great big, multi-level ice cream cake on a stretcher; running behind them was another clown ran with a hand-cranked siren screechin’ away. I’ll never forget that. I remember it was very Shakey’s-like, with ice cream substituting for pizza of course.
Wasn’t there another place around Har Mar called “The Last Frontier?” Had big black kettles and other kitschy “old West” gear hanging from the open-beam ceilings. Thought it was someplace around there.
Too bad Har-Mar is creeping upscale … we used to drive over from Mounds View quite a bit and I recall it as very local in flavor back in the 60s, as was Apache. Well, you know how it is … no one wants surprises anymore, just the same old predictable Wal-Mart, Best Buy, HomeDepot, Lowe’s experience.
I worked at Hoves around the mid 70’s as did my mom and older sister. It was a great job in the bakery for my sis and me. Loved those hard rolls and sweet rolls; almond and poppyseed filled. Oh to die for. The carrot cake was awesome as well. I remember the specialty filled pastry rolls were 14 cents and an elderly lady chewing me out because of the cost. Such was the times, now I complain about the cost of such a treat. At least a dollar a piece an never as tastie as I remember,while working at Hoves at the tender age of 16..
Joe, The Book Shop that was formerly in Har Mar hasn’t closed. It moved due east to a standalone store on Lexington Avenue. I’m glad to see it’s survived, especially with the news that the landlord’s been forcing stores out of Har Mar.
Drew –
The Last Frontier Restaurant was on the Northwest corner of Snelling and County Rd. B, where the Outback Steakhouse/strip mall is now.
Speaking of Steakhouses…
One of my favorite places to eat as a kid was the Rustler Steakhouse, across the street from Har Mar (Now Famous Dave’s.)
The thing I miss most about Har Mar is Cicero’s/Romeo Salsa’s Bistro and their Chicago deep dish pizza. All that cheese and garlic!!!! Ahhhh! It was better than the deep dish pizza’s I’ve actually eaten in Chicago itself!
Does anyone remember where the old Victoria Station used to be in Roseville??? Was it over by Perimeter Drive?
Thanks Tina with the info on the Last Frontier. Do you know offhand how long it’s been gone? We moved away from the Twin Cities in ’72 and don’t think it was around even then. Just curious. Thanks!
I was to the Barnes and Noble yesterday at Har Mar and noticed there was a sign outside the theaters that stated a Staples and a D’Amico & Sons (a Minneapolis based short order Italian chain and deli) were going in its place.
Also wasn’t this Barnes and Noble the first “superstore” in the chain?
I’m trying to rememer if back around 1965-70 if Har Mar had more than one story. My husband and I both are remembering it that way. We left the Twin Cities and went to live in Los Angeles. When we returned here for good in 2001 we noticed it is only one level. Maybe the sun fried our brains or was there another mall around that had two floors besides Rosedale.
There is a small shopping center across County B2 from Rosedale called Crossroads. I think it has two floors in it. The last I remember there was a Timberlodge Steakhouse (believed closed), a jewelry store, a movie theater, and some businesses I can’t remember.
Well, I left Minneapolis in 2006. I know Crossroads is currently occupied by a Kohl’s and a Best Buy. The Rainbow Foods closed recently. I am not sure the fate of the movie theaters as AMC opened a large 14 screen stadium seating megaplex as part of the Rosedale expansion.
Crossroads Mall has been faltering for the last ten years or so. While the Best Buy and several other big store are still there, the movie theater, Timberlodge Steak House and many of the small retail store have closed and the spaces remain vacant. There was a Lava-Links miniature golf course still operating the last time I was there, but it seemed pretty dead as well.
Crossroads mall use to be called Pavilion Place Mall when it opened in 1985/86 I believe. It was to be the Galleria of the Rosedale area, but it was a flop.
Rainbow Foods at Crossroads closed around August 2006. But its closing was not related to Crossroads’ difficulties. Ever since Roundy’s took over Rainbow a few years ago, the grocery store chain has been in decline.
The Crossroads store is a perfect example. They spent a bunch of money renovating it, only to close it a couple years later. Meanwhile, the dump of a Rainbow on Larpenteur stayed open! (They’re finally getting around to demolishing that one and building a new one.)
Roundy’s has not managed Rainbow well. They opened a brand new “concept” store in Shakopee, and again, closed it.
Anyway, Crossroads is still in flux. Best Buy moved into a giant new store in the former Rainbow site, and Dick’s Sporting Goods will take over the old Best Buy. No idea what’ll happen to the rest of it though. Lots of unused spaces.
There are new buildings being built on the HarMar Property now.. The new management is not renewing leases, correctly stated above.
A Staples will replace the now destroyed movie theaters.It appears as though the new mgmt is moving toward the strip mall model, which I think is a very smart move considering their lack of viable traffic as an internal mall.
Does anyone know about the cool photo retouching business at Har Mar? I wonder if it is still there. They do awesome work.
The Last Frontier was across Snelling from Uncle John’s Pancake House later to become Perkin’s which was moved to Co. Rd. B when the SuperTarget was built. One of the rooms in the Last Frontier had large paintings of nude women! I remember not allowing my children to sit in that room. Seems strange now that a family restaurant would have paintings like that! Does anyone remember a restaurant on Co. Rd. B2 and Fairview where HOM furniture is today? It had a western theme and my daughter loved to go there because the waitresses wore cowgirl outfits complete with boots and hats. Across Snelling from Har Mar where McDonald’s and Arby’s are today was an old fashioned drive in restaurant, The Roadside. We spent many high school evenings driving around checking out which friends were having french fries and cokes. The McDonald’s was built in 1956 next door to the Roadside but our allegiance remained with The Roadside. Oh the memories. Seems I could go on forever!
I rember in the 80’s going there in the basment they use to do all kinds of things in the couminty room My mom use to Square Dance down there!! they use to hold the Big Boy scout gathering there every year and the end of year Pinewood Durby was done in the mall they had a Boy Scout Store there for tons of years and I rember back in the days you could Smoke in the MALL!!
Yes I know Smoking Is bad for you!! I miss them days and they use to be a group of guys that would get together and sit down by what is now old Chicgo and smoke there Pipes!! lets see god I rember going there all time with my family.
I think they need to leave that Mall just the Way it is It has lasted this long that way and I like the old way of that mall!! just leave it be happy as it was meant to bed fun weird and wild!!
I worked at the Last Frontier as a teenager. The room with the nude pictures was usually only open during busy business men lunches. The men loved the “ole time” bar feeling of the room with it’s fancy red carpet, great bar (that never held any liqour, only colored water in old bottles), and the very nicley done nude paintings. I know, I had to dust it all once a week. The main dining room was open for all the families with children.
After my shift I walked over to Target to wait for my sister to pick me up. A few years later when I got a car, I too cruised the Roadside Drive – In, in search of that magic moment. Glad to hear there are many more like me.
I moved away from the Apple Valley area when I was in 5th grade (eons ago!) My husband and I brought our kids here for vacation and I kept asking about Cicero’s. No one knew where it was or anything about it. How disappointed I was to find out it closed. As kids we used to save our allowance money to get something extra there. I also remember it as being two levels with a “glass” or “see-through” floor/ceiling iin spots. Is this a correct memory? I also remember the man playing the big pipe organ! Are there any pictures of the old Ciceros to be found? Thanks for the tour down memory lane!
Does anyone know if it is possible to get an album of the music played by George Sumner when he worked at Cicero’s? We used to go to Cicero’s frequently when we lived in Mpls. I would love to get his album. Thanks!
Joe Z.
The Roadside actually still exists. It moved to the East side of Wheelock and 35E in a store front. They have pictures of the old location and my father and I go there a couple times a year and he recalls stories of when it was on Snelling.
I used to eat at Cisero’s as a kid – it was great! I also was a frequent customer of the Boy Scout Shop and Farrels – my step-dad was actually a manager there.
I saw my first movie at the Har Mar Theaters and the family made a special journey to see the last Star Wars movie there since we saw the first one there.
I drank more than a few times at the Ground Round, had late night food at Perkins, and my first girlfriend worked at the Panekueken Huis (where the Outback Steakhouse is.)
Most all of the stores that brought me to Har Mar are now gone. They do still fill the mall with all sorts of odd and unique ghetto flea market shit on a regular basis. I love it! Where else can you get a three dimensional picture of your cat in the form of a whistling wind chime!
I can remember waaay back almost to when Har Mar opened. It seems to me there was a little restaurant on the north end, at the JC Penney’s entrance that was called the Bombay Restaurant. It had an Indian theme in the logo and decorations but just served typical American diner fare as I recall. That would be the space that later became Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor (today it’s Buffalo Wild Wings). Anyone remember the crazy antics by the waiters when someone would order a Zoo ice cream platter? They carried it on kind of a stretcher-type thing and ran all over the store with it while sirens blared and bells clanged. Good times.
Woodcraft Hobby Shop and the Pet Store were always big destinations for us as kids. Pet Store still there in same spot, I noticed.
Also, the United Store was for many years a reason to shop Har Mar — for outdoor gear, jeans, etc. Hated to see them close.
The old Target across Co Rd B originally had a grocery store in the south end of it; my mom used to shop there a lot (ca. 1962-63).
Sure I remember Farrel’s … I had my 9th birthday party there in ’70. They featured it on the Clancy the Cop and Willie Ketchum show and when I saw that, I harassed my folks until they gave in. And yes, my little group had the Zoo Ice Cream Platter with the stretcher and wailing sirens!
“Shaniqua’s Wig Barn”? xD
My family moved from Fridley in 1975. My Dad worked for Butler Manufacturing and they relocated him to Murfreesboro,Tn. I’m 46 now and still remember Farrell’s, Shakey’s, Bridgemans. Does anyone remember what happened to Clark Submarines? Seems like all larger cities look alike today.
Wow, these are great memories. It is sad that all the modern day stores and restaurants are gone and they took away great memories that made going out so exciting ! I remember Farrell’s, Shakey’s, and lived in St. Paul in the 70’s when Clark Submarine was on University Avenue (it’s now Art Songs Wings). Does anyone remember Burger Chef being on County B and Lexington , where TCF stands today. I worked at that TCF in the early 90’s as a teller and it was funny that I recalled that being where the ‘Chef was. Someone bring back all those fun establishments. Anyone know where we can find pictures on a website of all of these places?
Several folks have mentioned Shakey’s but I don’t remember a Shakey’s at Har Mar, ever. Where the heck was that? I remember a Shakey’s in the corner of that old strip mall on Snelling and Larpenteur (torn down several years ago for condos). Maybe that’s the Shakey’s? Also, anyone remember that store at the original incarnation of Rosedale called Now & Then? Yep, a headshop right in good old Rosedale, with smoking paraphernalia, black-light posters, lava lamps, etc. It lasted quite a few years but over time was more just a novelty store I think. A store like that originally was would never fly today, that’s for sure!
We were just talking about the pizza place at church yesterday and I asked someone if they remembered the pizza place with the theater pipe organ. You have refreshed my memory now. It was Cicero’s and we used to go when my kids were little 30 – 35 years ago. I’m sure now that it was Cicero’s with the pipe organ and Shakey’s had the banjo player.
Can anyone else contribute to those memories?
Wasn’t there one of the old “Red Barn” burger chain restaurants somewhere in the outlying Har Mar area? I recall one over by the U of M, but thought Roseville had one too.
I took a job in March of 2008 as the leasing agent for Har Mar. Reading these comments has been both fun and disconcerting. As you have undoubtedly read in the papers the retail world is quickly changing; stores are closing, downsizing, and losing business left and right. Here at Har Mar change is also inevitable. Some of you have referenced the closing and moving of many of our former tenants. First of all I would like to clear the name of the current owners by stating the facts. The bookstore that relocated was behind in rent; Seasonal Concepts went bankrupt; Har Mar Lock and Key chose to relocate to a center that was better suited to them (we offered to relocate them within the center but they preferred to go, we still use them for all of our lock and key needs); Sundays ice cream store was offered a relocation within the main corridor of the mall but refused and decided to complain instead, TJ Maxx was closed because the TJX corp. decided that they didn’t want three stores within the same center (Marshall’s and Home Goods); Northwestern bookstore downsized within the center (great clearance store); and the latest was David Edwins who left over the weekend without giving us notice (he was also behind in rent). As you can see it has been a struggle. We would love to find more local retailers to fill the spaces. This also means that as consumers we need to support them, not just in words but in our shopping patterns.
I am very open to any ideas you may have of stores that would work well at Har Mar. Please post your ideas and I will call on the business owners to see if they are willing to relocate or expand. Thank you all for the history of Har Mar, it was so fun to read! I wish all of these stores and restaurants were still in existence today so we could bring them back to Snelling Ave and County Rd B!
I have both George Sumner (annoying movie theater pipe organ) albums that were recorded live at Cicero’s. I may be able to burn some to CD’s when i get around to it if anyone is really interested.
Jenny,
As recently as the mid-1990s, the mall had historic photos and clippings of its past on display. They were posted on a wall across from where Marshalls is now, I think. It would be nice if those could be reposted or perhaps put online someplace.
“This also means that as consumers we need to support them, not just in words but in our shopping patterns.”
We need to do that why?
As you did to the corner store, so the big box stores did to you. Why should we have loyalty to a mall?
Personally, I love seeing the collapse. It’s much slower than I thought it would be but that means there’s time to enjoy it.
Woog,
Whoa, that’s cold.
I don’t believe it was “Shaniqua’s Wig Barn”. It is my understanding that Besides the barber shop Merle Norman Cosmetics is the oldest tenant there.
I see that someone used to work at the Last Frontier as a teenager, does anyone remember the name of the family that owned it? I remember it was owned by a husband and wife and I know that had a son, but can’t remember their name.
You are all bringing back memories. I grew up in the Roseville area in the 50s and 60s. My first job – at 16 – was in the produce department of Hoves. Real Thompson seedless grapes from Calif! It was a great store.
Also fond memories of Uncle Johns Pancake House. As I recall, one of the favorites was Swedish Pancakes with Lindonberry sauce. Does anyone remember that?
Other places of interest – Rose Bowl bowling alley – next to the McDonalds. Polar Food Locker – north on Snelling a bit where you could
store meat. Rose Drive In theatre – corner of SNelling and andother street by what is now the Lunds store.
It was Farrel’s before it was Professor’s… It was Cicero’s for sure with the Organ… and across the street where Target is now was the second location of Shopper’s City
As far as the pizza comments, yes it was a Cicero’s then it was ‘Romeo Salsa’s Bistro’ for a few years
Drew,
I think Last Frontier has been gone since about 1985-86?
We moved to Roseville in 1976, I always loved looking at it when I went to Target. The hitch-in posts intrigued me, as a small child. I loved the old west look of it.
I want to say it was bulldozed during the middle 80’s “Roseville Strip Mall Boom”.
Cindy,
The restaurant on Co. Rd. B2 and Cleveland where HOM currently is, used to be Nino’s Steak Roundup. Around 1986, it turned into Miller’s Cedarwood Restaurant. It closed in the early 90’s. Great place. I miss it!
Tina
Scott,
Clark’s was a local Mom and Pop chain and I believe I remember reading that the introduction and over- saturation of Subway restaurants in the late 80’s, was the nail in the coffin for them.
I miss them. They were always a treat to have them for dinner.
Not that this will help you, since you’re in Tennessee now, but if you ever get back to MN and go to the Minnesota State Fair, be sure to stop at Al’s Subs, next to the Giant Slide. They’re the closest thing I’ve found to the old Clark’s Subs in the past 20 years.
@Tina,
I have very fond memories of “The Last Frontier” restaurant.
We lived about a mile away, near the intersection of Fairview and Roselawn. The restaurant itself was divided into two main areas, a more formal dining area to the left, and a more rustic room to the right. There was also a lobby with display cases that had, among other things, a skull with an arrow through it. It fascinated me as a kid.
The formal dining room had a player piano and, if I remember correctly, fine linens, etc. The rustic room had buffalo heads mounted on the wall, old cast iron items, guns, spurs, and all types of similar articles.
When I would go there as a kid, my dad would “always get to eat first” because they would bring his small diner salad before anything else. I also remember him lifting me up to get a better look at the wall mounted buffalo heads. I recall pulling the buffalo’s “beard”, and wanting to touch the galss eyeballs that each had.
@Murray, i dearly remember george and ciceroe’s. i would love to have a copy of his records if you are willing
Dave:
Jolly’s was at Apache Mall. Target was across County Road B from Har Mar Mall.
Owen:
I worked at Har Mar from 1971 until 1996 and was a member of the merchants association from 1994 to 1996 representing the store I worked for, Woodcraft Hobby which was next door to the pet shop. Jolly’s was at Apache Mall and had stores in Sunray and on south Robert St.
@Angela,
Farrells Ice Cream parlor, home of “The Zoo”, a very large bowl of ice cream that was delivered to your table by two servers after a loud announcement and much fanfair!
@John,
It wasn’t Shakey’s, I can’t remember the name right off, but they had a theater organ and, when they were located at the other end of the mall, went by the name Har-Mar Pizza. The name might have been Circus Pizza, but I’m not sure, too long ago.
@Dan,
Thanks for jogging my memory, Cicero’s it was, not Circus. At least I got the first two and the last letter right! LOL
@Brenda,
The blind guy was George, he would play requests from time to time and some of the employees would ask “if he could play ‘Far Away’……..far, far away”
@Diane Walters,
Sorry Diane, but Jolly’s was never in Har Mar, I worked at the hobby store at Har Mar for 25 years, from 1971 to 1996 when we closed. Our name was Woodcraft Hobby and we used to have a model train show that filled the mall with exhibits the weekend before Thanksgiving for most of the 25 years I was there.
@Drew,
It was kitty corner across the Snelling-County Road B intersection. There was a professional building built on it’s location in the mid-1970’s.
@Tina,
It was where the Cadillac dealer is, at least I think the dealer is still there, at least they were the last time I visited in 2004.
@Drew,
It stood empty for a few years before it was torn down in the mid-1970’s.
@Dave,
Yep, Shakey’s was on the corner of Larpenteur and Snelling used to go there a lot when I was in high school.
@Gary,
Rose Drive In, County Road C and Snelling, mowed the grass there once a long time ago.
@Nancy,
Southdale was 2 stories too, but I can’t remember if Brookdale was one or two stories.
So many, many great memories! Snyders lunch counter, Hoves (the first thing my mom would do was get us a donut so we were good while she shopped – I once invited the butcher home for dinner!), Kresges, Farrells, Ciceros, Field Schlick (got my very first bra there!), JC Penney, Holm & Olson….
I can remember when the Borgstrom’s of Coast to Coast lost their mom to cancer…..
TCF seems like it was there forever, it certainly looked like they hadn’t redecorated since the 70’s! BTW they just moved out into a new building where Roseville State Bank used to be). I remember winning a blue ribbon in a gerbil race in the mall…
Oh the movie theaters, how totally cool were the bathrooms there! I think that was better than the movie itself! And I remember picking the little rocks off of the front of the theater’s walls. The lights on the outside of the theater were pretty cool too!
Also, the Lalapalooza was Bridgeman’s. A credit union is there, but you can visit Denise (the daughter of the owners of the Bridgemans) at The Village Scoop in North Oaks next to Caribou and Bruegers. The Zoo was Farrells.
Yup, RoseBowl. Awesome place! How about Falcon Lanes in the basement of the center by Shakeys (that was a fun place too!). Chin’s kitchen, one of the other long time establishments stayed open across Larpenteur near where Herb’s Union 76 and the Flameburger used to be. Oh, and for the days of the original Lido’s on Larpenteur. They should have never, ever opened the new place. It just wasn’t the same, and things went downhill fast once they did. House of Wong is STILL on Larpenteur and Lexington too. Lido’s you should have followed Wong’s example!
Can’t answer about who owned Last Frontier (now if only we could get food like that these days – even the plain iceburg salad was great!), but I’m sure my folks would remember. Ground Round was good way back then, but in recent years, OMG, terrible! Chianti is very welcome there. Uncle John’s – remember the paper mustache’s! They had the best pancakes!
Polar meat locker. My very, very favorite place! I love the smell of meat smoke, I think they are responsible for my obsession with high quality meat to this day! I remember as a kid getting a skin on hot dog to eat while my folks shopped – or in the summer they would give us the popsicles that came in the plastic sleeves. One of the original owners retired to Fountain Hills, AZ many years ago, passed away in the last 10 yrs or less.
Burger Chef was in fact on Lex and Co B where TCF has been for some years. They are now closed there and at Har Mar, having moved to the new building. Also, there was Happy Chef where India Palace now stands just down from HOM furniture.
Moving out a little further, how about what used to be where Northwestern Radio station used to be? Paul’s Place, I think. That used to be the place for Back to the 50’s viewing for sure! Flaherty’s Arden Bowl is still there, better than ever, owned by Dave and Dan Flaherty. Thanks boys for keeping it in the family! Lindey’s over by Bethel is still slinging steaks. I miss the Steak Inn and their awesome food (especially the Monte Cristo). Staples now has a distribution center where St Paul Book and Stationery used to be. And let’s not forget the Countryside on Snelling and C2.
How I miss those places and days! And as for David Edwin, I don’t doubt what Jenny said. They were in and out for so many years, there are only so many old, wrinkly, over tanned ancient ladies willing to shop there. They should have not been so unwilling to change – perhaps a tweak here and there would have kept them solvent.
I know this will sound contradictory after my comment about D/E, but I have to kind of agree to a point with the person that is enjoying the decline. In general, society has changed so much in favor of getting the same exact flavor cup of coffee all over the country (can you say Starbucks) that all of those independent or smaller businesses, even those who did tweak, had not a chance. I believe it is a vivid example of how society has changed. It is too bad that small, family run restaurants have been run out of business by the large chains, and property management groups looking to be the biggest and best.
Jenny, to you I say this – I can just about bet when you offered to move some of those smaller businesses, there were most likely very large price tags attached to the tune of buildouts that you were going to assess to them, and higher rents. I am a mid 40’s woman with a post grad degree and a career that is on hold to raise my children. When I go to the Mall to get a key made, I want that familiarity and to go to the same space they have been since I was four and my parents had their keys made there. There are always ways to accommodate people if it means enough to you.
Rant done, I hope one day we will see the small businesses thrive again. There is something fundamentally missing when the best our kids can do for memories is Starbucks or Caribou or Applebees after a game or dance.
I too remember the Farrels. The “Zoo” had little plastic animals in it. You don’t see ice cream places like that anymore. A co worker installed the lighting at the Har Mar theater when it was built. Anyone know what happened to the big glass chandeliors?
I found this fascinating thread while searching for info on The Last Frontier — what a lot of memories of my youth in Roseville from 1965 to 1984! I just happened upon a restaurant in Sunnyvale, CA (north of San Jose, south of San Francisco) called Adamson’s French Dip, which is owned by the family who ran the Last Frontier. I ate there today — they have a small photograph of The Last Frontier hanging on the wall, and they serve the sandwiches in red plastic baskets similar to ones I vaguely remember from TLF; otherwise not much ambience in this tiny place but terrific food, if you happen to be out this way.
@Greg,
Thanks!
Oh yes, I have fond memories of going to Cisero’s in college. A bunch of us who attended North Central Bible College (now University) would go there a lot. I was so impressed with the blind man (which someone so kindly remembered his name was George) who played the organ and how the inside of the restaurant was set up like an organ!
Everyone seemed to hit the high points, but forgot some of the stores that were there over time. Like Lancers (across from the J.C. Penney corner), Schmitt’s music (across from the mall entrance to Penney’s and was also a ladies clothes store), Lotsa Fun, which competed with Roc-a-fellas and Picadilly Circus, Radio Shack (next to Cicero’s), and Applebaums. I loved Kresges (they had the pinball machines next to the food counter) and Hoves (family shopped there forever). The ones I can’t remember were what was across from the Woodcraft, what was opposite Snyders, and what was the Boy Scout store before it was the Boy Scout store? Loved Cicero’s…remember how George used to say that mice ran around the air tubes? Christmas was excellent there too, I remember the huge tree right in the middle. A lot of great memories, thanks all.
@Murray, I have tried for several years to get anything from Cicero’s. I went there as a kid quite often…I would always request a song or two…Rubber Duckie, I’ve been working on the Railroad to name a couple. I loved George Sumner! I had one of his albums when I was a kid, but lost it in one of the moves. I would also love to have a copy if you are sharing.
Remember the key shop? How about the jewelry store? I don’t remember the name of it, let me know if you do. What about the camping store where all the kids in the 60’s would buy painter pants, overalls and army pants. I rememember racing strollers down the mini hill inside the mall where the entrance to Penney’s was. Also I recall a high end gift shop in the mall as well. The little water falls were pretty and the basement where the restrooms were located were always empty – Har Mar offices?
@Scott McCormack,
Clarks was the very best. Cannot find one comparable today! Thanks for the memory!!
Does anyone know what is going on with the old movie theaters (the ones in back, not the one that turned into Staples?) I was driving by the other day and noticed some constuction going on back there.
Looking over the previous comments, I was reminded of a few other things from the area of Har Mar Mall from the 70’s. As a kid at Brimhall, I remember crossing County Rd. B on field trips to go into a small patch of woods right across from the playground. There is a large office tower there now. Back then, deep within the woods, was the foundation of an old house….I seem to remember being told that it was from the 1800’s and built by pioneers.
I also remember going to the Rose Bowl. There was a guy who always worked there during the daytime, an older gentleman. My recollection is that he would chase you out of there if you were just hanging out. Probably because kids enjoyed putting ketchup into the holes of bowling balls when he wasn’t looking! The Rosebowl had a very small cinder block area inside where the vending machines were. I remember there was one that was a favorite of all of us kids…the one that sold ice-cream sandwiches. The little conveyor belt would comu up, and you would open the door and there was your ice cream!
I also remember going to Mister donut after doing my paper route. Occasionally, the Strib would short me on papers, so I figured, being 12 years old, that it was OK to go get six of them out of the box at Mister Donut for the price of 1.
At Snelling and Larpenteur, I always loved Flower City during the holidays. I remember it having sort of a run down yet charming ambiance, and still mourn the day that it burned down. Tom Thumb was always a fun place to go and get a bottle of pop. I also remember the day I discovered it. My friend and I were in the Cub Scouts and had to sell tickets for the “Fun Fair” and $1 apiece. I thought we got to keep the money from the sales, so my friend and I went to Tom Thumb and bought as many Wacky Packages as we could. I still remember the look on my mom’s face…”You what!” The Flameburger was a favorite as well. They had the musical selector boxes at the booths. I still remember being there and Blondie’s “The Tide is High” playing, while waiting for hash browns and “Two really fresh eggs”.
Chins Kitchen was also a favorite, when they were at the old location. There was a great old hand painted sign on the storefront. The inside was as non-pretentious a one as you could get. Absolutely no frills. I loved it.
There were things around town, small little things, that I always made a point of looking at when we drove by. I always loved the sign at Aces 66 showing the four cards, the old beat up Star-Tribune paper box at the intersection of Fairview and County Rd. B, The Flameburger sign, the House of Wong sign, The Gold Eagle eagle, and the Chandler Wilbert Vault Company sign…Drive safely…we can wait.
@Joe
There’s a K&G Fashion Superstore set to open in March in that space.
@Greg, c
The pizza place was Cicero’s….had a pipe organ with a blind organist.
@Tina, Any idea who the owners were for Miller’s? We spent many evenings there and have great memories. There is a recipe I would love to have. It was for the Italian steak, it was pounded thin and was very spicy, really GREAT! If you have any ideas let me know.
@Joel
That was Frank Gallob behind the counter, who managed Rose Bowl for Marty Capp. He would have been in his early 70s in teh early 1980s. My first real job was at the Rose Bowl. We old Rose Bowlers remember the place fondly. Every now and again, I’lleven have a dream that the place is open and I’m bowling there. Strange, eh?
I was at this mall to buy a ticket for a movie.I live in the south and was on vacation that week in Minn.The same week JFK Jr’s plane went down.We stopped at Har-Har Mall in July of 1999.Lo and behold,there was Vern Troyer of the Austin Powers movies signing autographs with a few other midgets from the movie.My younger daughter was so excited to get his autograph and had to pay for it too.I guess this mall didn’t get torn down as that was the rumor in 1999.We also ate at Ruby Tues. in the same parking lot as Eastdale Mall in Edina.Its still open I guess.The two malls I just listed aren’t listed at Deadmalls.com.
Saw all the comments about HarMar Mall and remember when it was Tom Harkin’s Golf tee’s on the very spot that it now sits….also, we used to watch small airplanes land on that property while we were in the school room just east of where Har Mar now stands..across Snelling Ave was a DriveIn food place…My mom and my aunt Anne Houle worked at Kreske’s for a time…we moved to Roseville in 1940 and had a great history lesson on how it grew…thanks for the internet also….
I agree on small businesses dying out,the Mom and Pop stores.WallyMart has put so many out of business.Even in the smaller towns,the big megastores move outside of Main St.I do hope they make a comeback,same as the dying malls.Before malls were built in the late 1950.;s,we all shopped outside going from store to store in the cold and heat.Now the malls are dying and we are back to the stores shopping in the cold and heat.Things do go around in cycles so maybe years from now,malls will come back?Go to the site Deadmalls.com and see what states have lost the most malls.
Does anyone remember the guy who looked like Uncle Charlie (My Three Sons) that worked at the hot dog stand in the mall? He always scared me.
@Nina,
Yes, the little restaurant in Sunnyvale, California named Adamson’s French Dip is owned by Greg Adamson the youngest son of Jack H. Adamson who owned the Last Frontier across from Target on Snelling Ave. We roast Prime Rib directly in front of the customer in a genuine Wood-Fire oven we then slice the meat fresh to prepare our French Dip sandwiches.
The Last Frontier legacy lives on in Sunnyvale, CA. The youngest son of Jack H. Adamson opened Adamson’s French Dip serving the highest quality Mid-West beef to the California market.
@Murray, I would totally be interested in George Sumner’s stuff. I’m 48, and I was just talking to a co-worker today and we talked about going to Cicero’s at HarMar, and seeing the blind guy play the organ. This would be awesome if we could get some of that music! Let me know – Jim
@c,
I worked at the pizza place when it was Har-Mar Pizza with Mike Belnap (spelling maybe off) owning it with his wife. This was back OMG 1967-1969. Then after getting married, having my first child and returning from Germany (my husband was stationed there ARMY) worked there again in 1971-1972.Then moved out of the area. I loved that place. Did get back to visit when it was the new pizza place Cicero’s. Aw the memories.
@Nancy,
Only one story…
@Ken,
Gee I worked at Lancer’s store also for a short period. The manager attacked me (I managed to get away) in one of the dressing rooms so I quit. Working at Har-Mar Pizza didn’t pay enough so I worked at Lancer’s and was top sales for a part timer. The owner of Har-Mar Pizza was always a gentleman. His wife always called him so he spent several hours on the phone during the day and evenings. I wasn’t there for the transition to Cicero’s. (1971 or 72?).
Also bought extra produce for Har-Mar Pizza from Hove’s. At least I think that was the name. It was the big grocery store in the mall at the time. I personally never shopped there.
@Angela,
It was originally Farrels ice cream parlor. They had the “zoo” that they brought out on a stretcher carried by several wait staff! It was fashioned like an old ice cream parlor. In the late 80’s it became the “Professors” ice cream shop.
@Dean,
The lalapalooza was a Bridgemans treat.
@Murray,
Murry Et Al.
I worked at Cicero’s part time from 1973 to 1978.
There was one in Har Mar Mall, One in Edina and
One in Broklyn Center. 1st one was Har Mar Mall,
Second was Edina and Third was Broklyn Center.
I worked at all three. Helped open Edina and Broklyn Center ones. The owners were Mike and Carol Belnap. Mike had a pizza place before on the Farrells end of the mall (North side) then opened up Cicero’s on the East Side of the Mall. You are correct about he blind man who played the organ it was George Summer. I also have his Album. Ciceros was nuts. There was a waiting line out side all the time. The Organ was an Air type and built around the place. People would come in and enjoy Pizza, Pop, Pitchers of beer and sing to the organ music. It was a fun place, even to work at. I don’t know the fate of the three places after I left. They all eventually shut down. The manager at the time was Dan Bamberry or Banberry. Both he and his wife worked there. The place got so busy they could not keep up making their crust on site and Mike and Carol eventually ended up opening up a
Pizza crust factory where they made pre- made pizza crust off premise.
@John Gobats,
The funiest thing that every happened there was back in the 70’s “streaking” was in. One would take off their cloths and run naked in front of crowds. I was working there one night and a guy came in with a grocery bag. He had a partner. They went into the bathroom and one guy stripped and the other took his cloths out. There was an entry way with two doors. One opened up into another with a little waiting area in between. Well the “streaker” came out of the bathroom stark naked. The place was packed and he had a heck of time manurevering because of the the waitresses, tables and customers. He headed to the door. Problem was with two doors there were people crowded between them. When he opened the first door, to his surprise the entry way was loaded with people and he could not get around them!!! He was stuck inside and got really embarrassed!!! It took him a while to work his way through the crowded entry way!
What a gas.
@Dave,
Shakey’s Pizza was located on Central Avenue North,
Just south of 694. I lived across the street from it in 1968. It was in Hilltop. I loved that place. Later when raising a family my Kids loved to go there for Birthdays. Cool Place and all in all the pizza was not bad. Nice Thin Crusted Pizza and kind of tasty. Opps. South down the street from Shakeys is Tasty Pizza. I think its still there!
@Mark, Oh , how I remember going to Howard Johnson’s when I was young with my Mom. We use to sit at the counter and get spumoni ice cream in a silver frozen dish….such a great memory for me. Loved growing up in Roseville!!!
@Greg, Loved going to Hoves as a little kid with my Mom. Uncle John’s Pancake House was the place to be after Sunday Mass at St. Rose of Lima. Ahh…good times in Roseville!!!
@Greg Adamson, Loved the Last Frontier…such memories!!!
@DannyBoy,
I remember that guy too. Very creepy. I think I remember reading many, many years ago that he died of cancer. He struck me as a guy that might hit the heaters pretty good.
@Greg,
I think there was a Jolly’s at St. Anthony shopping center, gone now.
I remember the waterbed store, as a kid I use to lay on every one. Today’s kids have TV and Videogames, I spent my youth at Har Mar. Countless hours at the Radio Shack, at the Arcade, worked at the theaters. That place is a big part of my past
@Kyle, I worked at the Theaters too! Which ones, and when did you work there? I worked at the 4-11 in the late 80’s.
I would regularly get Zanzibar ice cream at Sunday’s on my breaks. I loved that place! Was sad to see it go.
I remember the Great American Music record store from waaay back in the day also. That was where I got tickets to my first big concert – A-ha!
Oh, I feel so old… *sigh*
😉
Oh, yes – Clark’s!
I LOVED the Clark’s turkey subs. That was always a special treat my mom would get me. Also, Zantigo’s! I lived in St. Paul at that time so only remember the Zantigo’s on Snelling Ave by Minnehaha but I thought I had heard in the past that the Taco Bell in junk food alley in Roseville was also a Zantigo’s back in the day.
I’m so glad there are Zantigo’s around once again. Too bad Clark’s hasn’t come back…
Yet more history. The back portion with Cub Foods was added in 1988. The Cub Foods space was originally a Highland Superstore until around 1991, when it became a BizMart and then an OfficeMax. OfficeMax pulled out in 1994 and became HomePlace before finally becoming Cub Foods in 1998. Also, Mars Music was where the TJ Maxx later was.
It’s interesting I lived in the roseville area as a child and use to play in the woods where rosedale mall now sits. I did a search this morning on a small grocery store called the hub that use to sit on the same location as har mar mall (the northern side where TCF bank is or use to be I’m not sure that it’s still there) anyway the computer didn’t bring up any pictures of the hub but brought me right to har mar mall. I use to walk to the hub with my brother when I was a little girl and we would get a half gallon of orange juice for 25 cents, we would sit on the curb of the hub and drink the whole thing and than walk back home. Those were the days.
I just wanted to add that the hub was there in late 1950s to early 1960s. That whole area was mostly country at that time. My Mom was from the east side and her family would say that she lived out in the boonies.
Wow talk about bringing back memories. I grew up in Roseville and spent a lot of time at Har-Mar in the mid to late 80’s. I remember going into B Daulton bookstore and checking out all the magazines and buying snacks at Snyders. Speaking of Burger Chef on the corner of Lexington and B, does anyone remember the Super America across the street being a Knowlan’s grocery store? I remember going grocery shopping there with my parents and always getting a sucker from the cashier.
@Erin, That first Target was actually one of the “new” Zayre Shopper City(out if business) locations before Target acquired the property
The Har Mar Radio Shack is now closed. I worked here in the late 1970s in college. I am still amazed at Har Mar. It’s mostly empty now but they keep the mall in very good shape, clean and repaired. They have a few strong remnants like a large Barnes & Noble, and they still pack the parking lots.
@Slider, I remember Knowlans being right about where Perkins now sits in the Target parking lot back in the day (early or mid ’80’s?). Is that what you are thinking of or was it actually at Lex and B at one point?
I grew up in the Hamline U area and moved to Rsvl in middle school so am not a “native” to the area…
@Shannon, There was a grocery store right by or maybe even connected to the old Target. The Knowlan’s I’m referring too is where Super America now sits on the Northeast corner of Lexington and Cty Rd B.
@Angela, yep, it was Farrels – the wait staff wore old-time flat topped straw hats and red and white striped jackets. They had a huge dessert called the “LaLa Palooza” – I think that was another they carried out on a stretcher and they would all sing as they brought it to you – clanging bells and all. You could also get “whoopie whistle” rings there that you wore and would blow into it and it would go whoooooo up and down.Quite the fun place to go in old Har Mar Mall!
@Joan,
The store at St. Anthony Shopping Center was Jerry’s Toys and Hobbies. They were also a contract post office for the USPS and I think that was why they lasted for so long. If I remember correctly they closed shortly after the postal service decided not to renew their contract.
@Roxanne, It was called “The Zoo.” A La La Palooza was a Bridgeman’s Ice Cream creation,Not a Farrell’s cretaion, that was “lifted,” if you will from the Farrell’s Zoo.
@c, Cicero’s opened in the location that was originally a Shakey’s Pizza Parlour.
@Drew, Red Barn was further much south on Snelling Avenue, near the Marshall intersection.
@John Gobats,
Could you posably tell me the name of George Summer’s album? My father use to go to Cicero’s and speaks highly of his music but I am having a hard time finding a copy.
@Joel, the last frontier was great. i have asked many friends over the years if they have heard of the restaurant,none of them have.it would be great to find pictures of the the place
You can enter cub foods from the mall-I don’t know where you got your info from. Did I mention they have a wonderful store manager? He happens to be my brother in law!
@Bill Farrell,
Shakey’s was at Larpenteur & Snelling, Cicero’s was opened in the Midway Ford showroom in Har-Mar that was forced to close when Ford mandated that all dealerships have a parts and repair department at every location.
Reading all these posts brings me back to my childhood. In the 60’s my parents took me to Penney’s to buy clothes. By the early 70’s I went to Har Mar with friends. I remember shopping at the Musicland store for records. The Har Mar Theatre had all the first run movies and was a brand new facility. I saw many movies there in the early and mid 70’s. After a movie we often went to Farrell’s Ice Cream. I moved to the opposite part of the Twin Cities in the late 70’s and hadn’t been to Har Mar for a long time. I was in the neighborhood a while back and decided to walk inside. It was sort of sad to see all the places I remember gone.
Does anyone remember the name of the sit down restaurant – more formal/family oriented – that was where Burger King is now? White with black trim – more of a one story home, looking restaurant. Arden Inn? Something like that, maybe? We had our wedding rehersal dinner there back in 1970. Thanks
@kathy Haukebo, You’re talking Har Mar, Dave was talking Apache Plaza. The Cub at Apache Plaza did not have mall access.
i remember in the very late 60’s or early 70’s there was a homeless man living in the attic at Har-Mar-nobody knew about it until he fell through the ceiling into the gift shop.
@Angela,
Yeah this brings back memories. I have not been in this area since 1994.
@Mark, Thank you for talking about the golf driving range. My father worked there when he was in high school( in the late 50’s) Some people say there was never a golf driving range there. My Father said the name of it was Harkins. i’m not sure of the spelling. thanks again for setting the story straight. if anyone has more info about this, please share.
I’m looking for any photos of Polar Meat Locker, interior or exterior. Or the interior of Pasquales Pizza at Rosedale. Or photos of Rosebrook park and James Addition neighborhood from the 60s and 70s. But mostly Polars! If you have one you can share, please email me. Thanks.
@Debbie, Speaking as a member of the Harkins family, you’re correct. The land Har Mar is built on was originally a golf tees by the name of Harkins. They also owned a bowling alley in St Paul.
Fond memories of both Ciceros and the fun times we enjoyed there. I worked at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour.
Oh to return to the days where my wife and I could split a pizza and then each take down an Ice Cream Sundae and not gain an ounce. Now, I can gain weight just by seeing a sundae pass by. Is there no justice in this life?
@Karen,
Don’t worry, woog is just a troll.
@Slider, B. Daltons was at Rosedale.
@Greg,
Yes there was a B Dalton at Rosedale and Har-Mar.
@Slider, Not at Har-Mar, I worked there for 25 years from 1971 t0 1996 and there wasn’t a B.Dalton there during that time. I worked at Rosedale from July of 1969, before the mall opened for business until November of 1971 and used to frequent the B.Dalton store that opened there when the mall did in 1969.
Went to Ciceros many times when our kids were young .Rubber Duckie was George’s signature song and he had a little duck that sat on top of the organ and he would squeeze it before he played the song.
Does anyone know the exact location of Ciceros at Har Mar? I think it was on the northest end.
Can someone give me the exact location of Ciceros Pizza in Har Mar Mall? My wife and I would take our girls there when they were young.
Does anyone have pictures of Ciceros?
@Bobby,
The place B&N is in right know was formally Northwestern Books and that moved to where the Hobby store was, next to the Pet Store.
Anyone know when Professor’s left?
I don’t remember HarMar’s damage in 1981, but I do remember going to see the Target with it’s outer doors ripped off.
@Brian,
oh I remember that theater. Watched one movie there: 7 years in Tibet.
@Jill,
The restaurant was called the Arden in and owned by the Knutson’s
@Harry,
Correction, Arden Inn and owned by Dick Knutson. I started as a dishwasher there when I was 15.
I grew up in Roseville from the mid-50s through the mid-70s.
I worked at Woodcraft just before Greg started there and was a roommate for awhile. I also worked at the old Har Mar Pizza, Ciceros (I remember when it was being built) and the Musicland store (which was originally called Record Lane before Grover Sayer changed the names of the stores to Musicland).
At the north end I remember:
Twin City Federal
Roseville State Bank
Har Mar Pizza (worked for Mike and Carol Belknap for many years. Started as dishwasher and ended up as a cook there and at Cicero’s)
Sears catalog store (Mike Frat always came over for his coffee breaks to HMP)
(I think there was another store between Sears and United)
United Stores
Coast to Coast hardware (Johnny and Skip B were the best, and so were their mom and dad)
the Liquor store (Jeff Meyer worked there for many years
Pet Store (I remember John S in his light blue smock)
Woddcraft Hobby (worked there when rev. Bob managed it and displayed some model cars there. I remember when Greg M started there)
Magnavox store (Bought a color TV there for my brother’s wedding present)
Other stores I remember are:
Field & Schlick
Northwestern Book Sellers ( dated a gal who worked there)
Kresge’s
Snyders
McChesney’s Beer and Wine making supplies (I remember when he taught Art at Ramsey high school)
Har Mar Lock and Key
Midway Ford (Won an autographed baseball there when a couple of the Minnesota Twins made an in store there. It sat empty for many years until Mike Belknap built Cicero’s there)
Across Snelling there was:
Rose Bowl lanes
Mc Donalds (anyone remember when Tim H drove through the front window?)
Roadside Drive in (the Hobo basket with my first cheeseburger they brought to the car after ordering through a speaker box.)
Arden Inn (Famous for their fried chicken and my first job as dishwasher when I was 15)
Polar Food Locker
Anyone remember the old Brimhall school kitty corner from St. Michael’s, Midway car Wash on the corner of Larpenteur and Snelling, Wild Bill Knowlan’s at Cty Rd B and Hamline?
Anyone remember going the Junction (dances in the basement of Har Mar where they had bands like Danny’s Reasons, Underbeats, Del Counts, Chancellors and Accents?
I moved to Southern California in the mid-70s and settled in the Pacific Northwest in the 90s and don’t get back there very often. Reading this thread brought back a lot of memories.
@Harry,
I forgot that next door to Musicland was Fanny Farmer Candies. Up by the Liquor Store was the florists
@Jocelyn, Farrell’s did indeed become Professor’s (and it was a full restaurant, not just ice cream), but that happened in the late 70’s, not the late 80’s – I worked there in 1979-80. Still a GREAT place when it was Professor’s, but not quite as crazy fun as Farrell’s.
@Greg,
That is correct: Shakey’s was in the old (long gone) strip mall on the southeast corner of Snelling and Larpenteur, and Cicero’s was in Har Mar Mall.
@Angela, I think ther was also a Shakey’s Pizza Parlor across from Farrell’s ond close by I think we had a Jolly Troll Smorgasbord…..those were the days eh??
Farrell’s, Farrell’s, fun at Farrells, Farrells Ice Cream Parlor!
@Jenny, that may be true of the some of the stores you mentioned (although I think you’re not stating all the facts), but I worked at Binding Memories for 5 years, until it closed in 2007, when the mall increased the rent to an insane amount and basically forced us to leave. If you would’ve just renewed the lease without increasing the price drastically, we wouldn’t have had to leave. The mall owners made it impossible to stay. You don’t know what you’re talking about.
@Bonnie,
I was a young adult when Cicero’s closed in 1982 and had visited the Roseville location primarily. Used to go there with my parents or friends in the late 1970’s and as a young organist I loved it. I have been collecting the George Sumner and Mike Grandchamp records and their crazy looking menu’s on line lately to keep the Cicero’s memory alive. I had no idea that it was in business back in 1967. Do you know the year they first opened, thanks!
Dave S.