The 5-8 Club Tavern & Grill is a restaurant in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, Minnesota. Founded in 1928 as a

speakeasy A speakeasy, also called a beer flat or blind pig or blind tiger, was an illicit establishment that sold alcoholic beverages. The term may also refer to a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. In the United State ...

, the eatery is one of two Minneapolis establishments that claim to have invented the Juicy Lucy cheeseburger in the 1950s, the other being

Matt's Bar Matt's Bar is a restaurant in south Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is known as one of two businesses that created the Jucy Lucy. History The bar was originally named Nibs prior to 1954 and was owned by Nibs Martin, who later purchased the Magic Ba ...

. The Club also serves its Saucy Sally burger and other dishes including

fried cheese curds Cheese curds are moist pieces of curdled milk, eaten either alone as a snack, or used in prepared dishes. They are most often consumed throughout the northern United States and Canada. Notably, cheese curds are popular in Quebec, as part of the ...

and onion straws. The restaurant, which has been featured on several

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with ...

TV series, has three additional locations in Minnesota.

History

The Club Tavern & Grill opened in

, Minnesota, in 1928 at the intersection of 58th Street and

Cedar Avenue Cedar Avenue is a roadway that runs from Minneapolis to Northfield in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The roadway is known as Minnesota State Highway 77 in the busiest portion of the route, from Minneapolis to Apple Valley. The portions north an ...

, with 58th Street lending its name to the establishment. Founded during the United States'

Prohibition Era Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacturing, manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption ...

(1920–1933), the club started illegally as a

in a

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

-sided residence in a relatively non-urbanized area to the city's south. The club's proprietors built a subterranean garage below the house to aid them in illegally transporting alcohol. In honor of its past as a speakeasy, the rear entrance to the Club remains the main entrance. Three additional Club locations have been opened, in Maplewood, Champlin, and West Saint Paul, Minnesota. The restaurant was acquired by Food Services Inc. in 1996.

, another Minneapolis eatery located 23 blocks north of the Club on Cedar Avenue, about which establishment invented the burger. According to the Club, they developed the dish in the 1950s. The version served by the club is spelled ''Juicy Lucy'', while the Matt's Bar iteration omits the letter ''I'', resulting in a spelling of ''Jucy Lucy''. Unlike Matt's Jucy Lucys, the Club's Juicy Lucys are offered with the option of four different cheeses:

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

pepper jack Monterey Jack, sometimes shortened to Jack, is a Californian white, semi-hard cheese made using cow's milk, with a mild flavor and slight sweetness. Originating in Monterey, on the Central Coast of California, the cheese has been called "a vesti ...

, and

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

. In order to avoid confusion in the preparation process, patties being grilled are tagged with colored toothpicks corresponding the type of cheese inside. The restaurant serves as many as 300 of the cheeseburgers each day. Referencing the different spellings of their respective burgers, waitstaff at the Club have donned shirts imploring that "If it's spelled right, it's done right." The club sells T-shirts reading "Free the Cheese" in contrast to shirts offered at Matt's that read "Fear the Cheese".

Other dishes

In addition to Juicy Lucys, the Club serves other dishes, including

pork tenderloin sandwich The pork tenderloin sandwich, also known as a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich (BPT), contains a breaded and fried cutlet similar to Wiener schnitzel and is popular in the Midwest region of the United States, especially in the states of Indiana, ...

es, potato wedges, and onion straws. The Saucy Sally, a variation on the Juicy Lucy consisting of a

secret sauce A secret ingredient is a component of a product that is closely guarded from public disclosure for competitive advantage. Sometimes the ingredient makes a noticeable difference in the way a product performs, looks or tastes; other times it is u ...

cooked into a beef patty and served with a variety of toppings (onions, cheese, lettuce, and

Thousand Island dressing Thousand Island dressing is a creamy salad dressing and condiment made from a base of mayonnaise and usually ketchup or tomato purée and chopped pickles, (Note: 2 different recipes are offered in this book) and typically including a variety of ...

) is served at the eatery. In March 2016, the Club began its Brewer's Burger program, allowing a new local

craft brewer Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...

to develop a limited-time burger–beer pairing each month. The restaurant offers "free refills 'till you float" on beverages.

Reception

Citing the variety of cheeses offered in the patties, George Motz described the Club's Juicy Lucys as an upscale version of the dish.

Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl is an American magazine feature writer and a food and wine writer, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Personal life Dara Moskowitz was born and raised in New York City and graduated from Stuyvesant High School ...

described the bar's Juicy Lucy in ''

City Pages ''City Pages'' was an alternative newspaper serving the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. It featured news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews and music criticism, available free every Wednesday. It ceased publication in 2020 due to a ...

'' as a "big, sizzling, dense, and tender burger filled with good cheese" while ''

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''s Kevin Alexander disagreed, writing that the patty "lacked serious flavor and the cheese didn't burn istongue as much as just surrender en masse on isplate after an initial bite." Of the ambiance, Motz wrote that in spite of "its clinical-looking rear entrance", the bar has a "comfortable dining room with a large outdoor patio." James Norton commented that the eatery "has a clean, bright suburban sheen to it more evocative of a well-maintained

Applebee's Applebee's Restaurants LLC. is an American company that develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant chain. The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining, with mainstream American dishes such as salads, ...

than a hole-in-the-wall tavern" and Alexander compared the restaurant's exterior to "the rectory of a pretty happening church". The Club was ranked first among the 101 restaurants featured on the second season of the

's ''

Chowdown Countdown ''Chowdown Countdown'' is an American television special series that features 101 places to find the tastiest and most amazing food at various locations across America. Each episode counts down to the number one spot and features all different ...

'' in 2014. The restaurant has also appeared on two other Travel Channel shows: ''

Man v. Food ''Man v. Food'' is an American food reality television series. It premiered on December 3, 2008 on the Travel Channel. The program was originally hosted by actor and food enthusiast Adam Richman. In each episode, Richman explores the "big foo ...

'' in 2009 and '' Food Wars'' in 2010.

References

External links

* {{Restaurants in Minnesota Drinking establishments in Minnesota Restaurants in Minneapolis Restaurants established in 1928 1928 establishments in Minnesota

History

Menu

Juicy Lucy

Other dishes

Reception

References

External links