Outside and in, a faint green glow seems to permeate the structure, from the sign out front to the bar’s liquor lighting array. Pale stone gives way to well-worn brick outside, the words ‘liquor’ and ‘food’ above the door clearing up any misconception as to what kind of garden lies inside. The tone is set immediately by the vintage pay phone just inside the front door, and unlikely other vintage “decorations,” this one appears to be in working order.
There’s more to the green motif than simply the lights, as the dive bar’s signature offering appears to the be “The Greenie,” as a mural on the outside of the building makes clear. This reviewer did not partake in a Greenie on a recent visit, but fair to say any liquor drink named after a color is likely a mix of strong and sweet that makes getting up the next morning a little bit more difficult. Investigation reveals that the concoction is a mixture of lime flavoring and vodka. And fear not, the Pinkie, Bluie, Orangie, Purplie and Brownie are all available as well.
The space itself isn’t complicated, a shoebox of a Minneapolis dive bar bathed in beer sign neon almost exclusively. Along one wall, a string of red cushioned booths provide intimate seating for pairs of drinkers (or ill-conceived groups with poor judgment). Aside from a spare table here and there, the main attraction is the 360 degree bar in the middle of the room, a wrap around structure that serves as a dive liquor island. As an added benefit, the bar features a bit of a ledge, allowing elbows and drinks to exist on different planes, or facilitating double decker dive bar drinking.
