Two longstanding neighborhood bars in St. Paul’s Midway area — Big V’s Saloon and Hot Rods Bar and Grill — are coming under new ownership just in time for the debut season at Allianz Field.

Tolch Properties bought the 1920s-era Ashton office building near Snelling and University avenues in St. Paul shortly before the Green Line rolled its first trains down the corridor, knowing the area was due for some changes.

With Big V’s and Hot Rods sales closing in late February, Tolch will soon own most of the north side of the block between Snelling and Asbury streets under the title Midway Entertainment Group as well as the parking lots in back.

Rather than dive bars and empty properties, it’s an area they’re hoping will soon be known for “Booze, Food and Fun.”

“We’ve had a good run,” said Vic Masanz, who has run Big V’s with his wife Jeanne Masanz for nearly 40 years. “The stadium was coming in. The time was right. Otherwise, it was looking kind of bleak.”

Big V’s — the site has hosted a bar since the early 1890s — carried the news on its website: “Big V’s Saloon will become Midway Saloon starting the beginning of March. With that said it’s time to say farewell.”

Hot Rods closed and was put up for sale in the first half of 2018 while under scrutiny from the city. Among public safety concerns, comedian Josh Blue, who is disabled, was assaulted in the bar bathroom the year prior.

MODERN-RETRO NEIGHBORHOOD HANG-OUTS

A representative of Tolch Properties said the goal is to put the past behind them, while staying true to the neighborhood’s eclectic roots.

The developers come from the same family that once operated Crazy Louie’s Surplus City and Museum on University Avenue in Frogtown, as well as The Woolie faux finishing paint products. Related Articles Trump pledges woman for court, pushes Senate to move on pick

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Tolch Properties now make their offices at 1549 University Ave. W., behind “Dress for Success,” which provides professional attire and job search help for low-income women. They plan to move a second nonprofit into the building’s top floor.

It’s the bars next door that will change dramatically, according to the company representative, who shared renderings on condition he not be named. With 1980s nostalgia in mind, they’re taking a cue from Can Can Wonderland on Prior Avenue and the Up-Down Minneapolis in Uptown, two classic video game bars that routinely draw lines out the door.

Hot Rods, tentatively dubbed Gibson’s, will serve food and alcohol next to a 10-foot-tall Pac Man video game screen, pinball classics and other modern-retro arcade games.

Big V’s, soon to be known as the Midway Saloon, will specialize in whiskeys and “Midway martinis,” while hosting bingo, taco Tuesdays and other neighborhood-friendly fare. The empty lot between the two bars will effectively link them through an outdoor patio and seating area.

Neither bar will be a soccer bar, per se, though Tolch envision partnering with Minnesota United FC on joint events if the team is willing. They’re hoping to create neighborhood tie-ins to the Winter Carnival and other events such as like Halloween, New Year’s Eve or the Northern Spark arts festival.

The neighborhood has been “looking a little blighted,” said Masanz, who believes the soccer stadium and new bar ownership will bring fresh energy. “We kept (bad characters) out of our place, but it was going downhill since the late 1990s. Things are going to change once they get beat cops out there. It goes in cycles. Everything goes in cycles.”

ALLIANZ FIELD AND OTHER CHANGES

Changes in the area are palpable. Minnesota United tore down an old Rainbow grocery across the street to construct the 19,400-seat Allianz Field soccer stadium, a $250 million project that will be conveyed to the city. United plays its first home game in April.

The Mortenson Co., which built the stadium, also has development rights to the rest of the Midway Shopping Center — the strip mall around the stadium.

However, it’s unclear how quickly new tenants and fresh development may emerge. Some, like the old Midway Pro Bowl bowling alley and bar, are already gone. Others, like Big Top Liquors, have simply relocated to a different building on site.

Not far from Big V’s and Hot Rods, the Townhouse Bar — one of the state’s oldest gay bars — recently came under new ownership and has been rebranded The Black Hart St. Paul.

The bar, which has undergone minor remodeling, shows professional soccer matches at all hours, including some Sunday mornings, though it retains its drag show nights and other emblems of gay culture. They remain open but are planning for an official grand opening on March 2, to coincide with the first of Minnesota United’s away games.

Black Hart owner Wes Burdine has repainted the building’s exterior and is putting in new flooring, windows, signage and a seating area.

“It’ll feel fresher, hipper and more exciting,” said Burdine. He is a technology writer who produces the soccer podcast FiftyFive.One.

“One of our biggest concerns was making sure that the existing LGBTQ community felt reassured that the bar remained a space for them, but at the same time making sure the bar was welcoming to both the greater Midway and the soccer community,” Burdine said. “There’s lots of different people who are interested in the space, and making sure they mingle and interact well has been interesting. There haven’t been any problems.”

At Snelling and Selby Ave., O’Gara’s Bar has been demolished to make room for its next incarnation — it will occupy a smaller footprint on the ground level of a new apartment complex. Related Articles Minneapolis and St. Paul to add 70 electric car charging stations with $6.7M grant

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Apartments are also going in nearby at a Bremer Bank site across from Allianz Field on the west side of Snelling Avenue, among other nearby locations.

Farther afield, Tracks Bar and Grill relocated last year from Prior and University Avenue to Rice Street. Near Griggs and University, after 25 years as the self-described Apollo night club of St. Paul, Arnellia’s closed in 2017 following the death of its owner, Arnellia Allen.