Before Nye's
The original corner bar, now the polka room, opened in the 1880s as Heffron's.
Nye's opening dates
1950 (corner bar).
1964 (dining room).
Original owner
Albin "Al" Nye, a north Minneapolis native born to Polish and Austrian immigrants, opened Nye's with his wife, Kathryne, after working at Northern Pump during World War II making anti-aircraft guns. His early clients largely came from the nearby Coca-Cola bottling plant. For decades, he made the sauerkraut at home himself, using a tightly guarded recipe. He sold the bar in 1994 and died 10 years later at 89, with his funeral held on what would've been his and Kathryne's 64th wedding anniversary.
Most tenured employee
"This is the only job I've ever had since I got out of the Navy," said bartender Phil Barker, who can list his time served to the day ("47 years, one month, 18 days," or since Feb. 1, 1969). His uncle was a neighbor of Al Nye, who called up Phil in a pinch one day to work the bar over lunch. "He kept paying me, so I kept coming in." Now just a weekend staffer, Barker does not have any concrete plans for after the closing, but said simply, "I'll have to do something."
Most requested songs at the piano bar
1. "Piano Man"
2. "Sweet Caroline"
3. "Killing Me Softly With His Song"
4. "Dream a Little Dream"
5. "Fly Me to the Moon"
That's according to weekend ringleader Daina De Prez, who said of all her years working piano bars, "I've never seen a more eclectic range of customers and requests. I literally have to cover 100 years of music."
How did 'Sweet Lou' do it?
"I asked Lou how she managed to keep this up for 45 years," De Prez said of her predecessor, "Sweet Lou" Snider, who died on Feb. 28 at age 81 and sat for more than half her life behind the piano bar. "She said, with a little wink, 'I drank.' "
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
