An ode to Mickey’s Diner

UPDATE: The diner reopened in early October 2024

An ode to Mickey’s Diner
by Tim Spitzack | Editor | November 2023

The corner of West Seventh and St. Peter streets just hasn’t been the same since 2020, when COVID-19 took down one of St. Paul’s most iconic institutions: Mickey’s Diner. No longer do we see the warm glow of its interior lights illuminating the sidewalk, or people huddled inside waiting to be served “America’s Favorite All-Day Meal,” which included two eggs, meat, thick-shred hash browns and toast, all for under ten bucks. You could get that meal and many others any time of the day, every day of the year.

The dining car is more than 80 years old and has had its share of issues to meet 21st century comfort and compliance but it had chugged on for decades by dishing out decent food at a fair price. Many have been patiently awaiting its reopening but now wonder if it will ever come. It was scheduled to reopen in the spring of 2022 following a GoFundMe drive that raised more than $73,000 to help the owners renovate and replace the HVAC system. That came amidst supply chain issues and rising interest rates, which complicated matters even further.

Since then, Mickey’s website and Facebook page have teased at its reopening, but no updates have been given in quite some time. Its website now reads: “We have made the difficult decision to again suspend service. It pains us we won’t be here for our loyal customers, downtown neighbors and regulars. We have enjoyed greeting familiar faces and meeting all the new ones. We wholeheartedly thank you for your support! We look forward to seeing you and serving you again soon! Please follow us on Facebook for updates. Be well…. until we meet again.”

Its Facebook page is no longer active and calls regarding its status were not returned. If Mickey’s fails to reopen, St. Paul will be the poorer for it. The famous eatery served everyone from everyday St. Paulites to A-list Hollywood actors and over the years earned numerous accolades. It has been named one of America’s Top Ten diners, been on the Food Network and other national food shows, and appeared in publications far and wide, from National Geographic to Esquire. The diner has also been featured in some Hollywood blockbusters, including “The Mighty Ducks” and “Jingle All The Way,” which features a classic scene when Howard Langston and Myron Larabee, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad, respectively, are engaged in a tussle inside the diner that ends with Larabee in a chokehold screaming “911” into a payphone receiver that, incidentally, had been ripped from the phone during the scuffle.

The diner dates to 1937, when Mickey Crimmons and Bert Mattson commissioned a New Jersey firm to prefabricate a restaurant in the form of a passenger-train dining car – so, no, Mickey’s is not an actual railroad dining car. The only time it was on the rails was when it was shipped to St. Paul. The owners had it placed at 36 West Seventh St. and opened it in 1939. It has been a family-owned business ever since, always under ownership by a member of the Mattson family.

The diner’s eclectic motif and architectural style landed it on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Its exterior has yellow and red porcelain steel panels, plate glass windows divided by fluted chrome strips, Art Deco lettering, and a roof topped with a neon sign and a ribbon of light bulb edging. Its glass vestibule was not part of the original prefabricated design. The interior has stainless steel grills and fixtures, booths and stools to accommodate 36 customers, and walls sheathed in mahogany paneling and smoked glass mirrors. The National Register nomination form says Mickey’s is the only known dining car of its type to survive in Minnesota and notes its “exceptional cultural, architectural and historical importance as a beloved, longstanding and unique social institution.”

Downtown’s recovery from the pandemic has been painfully slow, mainly because so many people are working from home. City leaders, boosters and downtown residents alike are hoping more and more workers return in the coming year to breathe life into the quiet buildings, skyways and streets. Hopefully that happens soon, and that Mickey’s returns along with them.