Obituary: Robert Hall 'elevated' bowling alleys

Robert Hall was a working-class kid from the East Side of St. Paul who owned gas stations, developed Twin Cities bowling alleys and restaurants and moved to California in 1994 to start a vineyard.

Hall, an aggressive entrepreneur, died last month in California at the age of 85.

Hall's business career began after he returned from serving in the Navy in the 1950s. He and his brother, Chuck, acquired several gas stations. But Hall got bored pumping gas.

He and Chuck Hall developed and built the Maplewood Bowl in 1962, the first of several bowling alleys they would own and operate. His daughter, Susan Bissonette, said they were "state-of-the art bowling centers" and "among the first of their kind to have upscale nightclubs with live regional and national musical bands."

Hall also bought and remodeled the Mermaid Supper Club in Mounds View in the late 1970s. And he owned several travel agencies franchised by Carlson, the travel and hospitality company.

"He was a small-business visionary … and proverbial self-made man," Bissonette said. "His work ethic was legendary. There wasn't a job he couldn't do or wouldn't perform. He transformed cornfields into entertainment venues for the whole family.

"He elevated the old style bowling alley into a multifaceted entertainment center with upscale food and entertainment. He was very involved in the St. Paul Winter Carnival and in 1976 was the Prince of the East Wind and loved to promote St. Paul."

In the last 20 years of his life, Hall fulfilled his dream of owning a vineyard to grow his own grapes and ultimately develop his own brand of wine.

Hall had fallen in love with Rhône wines on a trip to southern France. In 1994, after selling most of his Minnesota business interests, he moved to the small California town of Paso Robles. A Star Tribune wine critic wrote in 2004 that Hall and his business partner were "impressing critics with some of the most delicious and reasonably-priced Rhône-style reds in California."

Hall bought land and hired a winemaker who helped him develop Robert Hall Wines, including the award-winning red blend known as Rhône de Robles, which was later renamed Cuvee de Robles, according to Bissonette. The winery is owned by Hall's wife and is still in operation. Hall built an underground wine cellar that could withstand earthquakes and added a banquet center.

"This is my dream," Hall said of his California business in 2004. "This is what I've wanted to do my whole life."

Hall's appetite to do more never subsided, recalled Bissonette. Toward the end of his life, he was working to develop a hotel near his California property.