19 Bar reopens in Minneapolis nearly a year after major fire

The historic 19 Bar in Minneapolis is reopening on Thursday afternoon, nearly a year after a devastating fire forced it to shutter its doors.

The popular gay bar dating back to the 1950s was closed after a fire gutted the building last March. A garbage truck hit an adjacent utility pole, causing electrical wires to fall on the building’s gas supply and spark a fire.

Owner Gary Hallberg said Thursday that rebuilding the bar over the past few months has been “hectic.”

“I’m relieved,” he said of reaching the reopening. “It should be going good. All of our people that have been working on here have been just great.”

He had hoped to reopen the bar last summer, and more recently on New Year’s Eve, but had to postpone to fulfill city requirements and inspections.

The bar, which claims to be one of the oldest gay bars in the country, is set to reopen at 3 p.m. Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Going forward, it will resume operating under its normal hours — 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. on weekdays and 1 p.m. to 2 a.m. on weekends.

Hallberg said he’s happy to be able to reopen 19 Bar. He’s been getting texts and emails for the past year from people asking about when he’d be able to reopen.

“During COVID, we closed for 15 months,” said Hallberg. “So this is even shorter than that. We survived that, came back strong — and I think we’ll come back strong on this one, too.”

He’s expecting to see at least 100 people for the reopening, a crowd similar to what the bar gets during Pride month. Hallberg said there are still a few adjustments and finishing touches that need to be made to the bar, but he’s ready to be “rocking and rolling.”

“It should be fun today. And I hope all the community comes,” he said.