It's not too often the reopening of a restaurant gets people this excited. But that was the scene Thursday at Mickey's diner, a staple of downtown St. Paul that had been closed since December of 2020 due to the pandemic.
The place was packed and it came as a surprise to co-manager Sam Hashish.
"We did not expect to be this slammed today," Hashish says. "This is just a soft open. We were just hoping for a couple customers to check out the machines and everything. But then, I guess you gotta love Mickey's right?"
Although it used to be open 24/7, for the time being they'll be open everyday from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 or 9:00 p.m.
The classic dining spot on West 7th Street had been in continuous operation at the same location since 1939. Designed to resemble a railroad dining car, the prefabricated building was constructed in 1937 in New Jersey, then shipped to St. Paul by rail.
The unusual architecture made it a local landmark. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 for having local significance in the themes of architecture and commerce. It was nominated for being "a beloved, longstanding and unique social institution," an unaltered example of railroad car-style diners, and one of the few surviving examples of its type in the American Midwest.
It was also famous as a late-night eatery for those who needed something to "soak it up". The diner also has appeared in movies that include The Mighty Ducks series of the 1990s and Jingle All the Way (1996). The opening and closing scenes of the 2006 Robert Altman film A Prairie Home Companion were shot at Mickey's.