Separation anxiety

Hubert's bar owner Steve Anderly looks like a man who is about to lose a close friend.

His no-frills sports bar -- its walls covered in signed jerseys and faded newspaper clippings -- has sat in the shadow of the Metrodome for 26 years. Amid this stark landscape of parking lots and nondescript buildings, Hubert's is not only the closest bar to the Dome, its the only one within several blocks.

Now the Dome's busiest occupant -- the Minnesota Twins -- is leaving the neighborhood. For Hubert's, it's not just the end of the Twin's regular season -- it's the end of an era. For a quarter-century the bar has enjoyed a harmonious relationship with the team, serving as many as 1,200 fans before home games.

Soon, the banners hanging outside of the Dome proclaiming "This is Twins Territory" will come down. Only three regular-season games remain before the team relocates for next year's inaugural season at Target Field.

Sitting in a tattered booth inside Hubert's last week, Anderly was long-faced but seemed content with the impending separation.

"Baseball is meant to be played outdoors," Anderly said. "I knew one day they would move. And I'm happy for them. They deserve their own place."

Short with sunken eyes and a south Minneapolis drawl, Anderly can often be found running orders himself before game time. He said the Twins' 80-plus home games make up 35 to 40 percent of Hubert's business. On those days the serving staff doubles and the number of bartenders can go from one to six.

The best of times

Anderly's fondest memories at Hubert's are frozen in his mind like the newspaper photos that adorn these walls. His favorite: the 1987 World Series, game 7.

"It was Minnesota stepping into the big time," he said. "The intensity of the fans. The excitement of the town. The whole Homer Hanky thing."

Over the years, Anderly has remodeled Hubert's several times, adding an atrium and a patio. The framed memorabilia piled up over time, many autographed by names like Puckett and Hrbek. Ball players would even come in for a drink.

"Carlton Fisk was probably one of the nicest guys," Anderly said of the legendary White Sox catcher. "He always made it a point to stop in. He liked to chase the girls."

After a decade filled with winning baseball seasons (plus the always busy Vikings), Hubert's has had a captive audience. But this symbiotic relationship has had its downsides.

The baseball strike of 1994 and 1995 took away the end of one season and the shortened the next. Even in the early years (the bar opened October 1983), business wasn't exactly guaranteed and it was soon apparent that a bar scene wouldn't be popping up around the Dome. "When I first came here there were grandiose plans for development," he said. The University of Minnesota's Gopher football team left the Dome in 2008.

"We've weathered a lot of storms," he said. But the biggest storm of all will be the Twins' departure. Anderly said he has no idea what to expect next season, but he's ready to do something he's never had to do: offer food and drink specials. He'll also partner with a nearby church to offer 200 cheap parking spots.

The crowds will be smaller. Hubert's staff might shrink, too. But he's not ready to follow the Twins to a part of downtown that is already saturated with bars. Anderly said give him a year. Some fans are already saying their good byes to the bar. Some are asking if the bar will eventually close.

"We're not planning to go away anytime soon," Anderly said. "We'll be around."