Big 10 restaurant owner leery of high-rise plan, wants to stay

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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A long-time pre-game institution, and my meeting spot with Hodger and Ope3 could get displaced. Per a few weeks old story in the Business Journal (h/t Gopher07):

One of the owners of the Big 10 Restaurant and Bar says he wants his well known University of Minnesota-area sub sandwich shop to stay put despite the Minneapolis property's potential redevelopment into an apartment tower.

"I love this old creaky building and it's my opinion that once you tear down something old, you maybe never regain what was there," Todd DuPont said. "We are an institution on a campus that is losing them very, very quickly."

Former Opus developers Tom Lund and Mark Bell are considering a 27-story residential, retail and office tower at the southeast corner of Washington Avenue S.E. and Harvard Street near the University of Minnesota.

The new development could displace Big 10 and another restaurant, Village Wok, although the developers aren't discussing specifics of their plan. Their firm, Harbor Bay Real Estate Advisors, has under contract a pair of two-story buildings that were built in 1905 and 1926 and it is negotiating to buy an adjacent surface parking lot from a nearby church.

http://www.bizjournals.com/twinciti...er-leery-of-high-rise-plan-wants-to-stay.html

Go Gophers!!
 

Time to chain ourselves to the doors before the bulldozers get there. Really bad news. The owner is right. We're losing too many institutions on campus. Love the Big Ten, but the Wok was a great place for a lot of food on a college student's budget back in the 80's. What's next? Al's?
 

Soft spot for it because we had the best chance of getting served there as underaged drinkers back in the 60's. Some people call it progress but there is a cost in neighborhoods losing their identity.
 

Losing the Big Ten would be a serious blow to pregame anticipation/excitement/preparation. I like what the owner says about the old building. That aura gets lost with a copy-cutter restaurant that likely would replace it. If the Big Ten goes, then we're down to just Stub & Herb's for the true classics near The Barn.
 

Holy Man said:
Time to chain ourselves to the doors before the bulldozers get there. Really bad news. The owner is right. We're losing too many institutions on campus. Love the Big Ten, but the Wok was a great place for a lot of food on a college student's budget back in the 80's. What's next? Al's?
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Amen, I'll fly up with chains and an industrial padlock to keep that development away. The place is one of my best memories of my 4 years on campus. Aside from the best subs in town and great fries, who can forget quarter taps on Thursdays? Well, I forgot most of them after spending lots and lots of quarters, but I vaguely recall the premise, and it was pretty damn fun.
 


Big 10 yes. Village Wok, meh. Shuang Cheng is better.

I'm all for development. Build, build, build.
 

TruthSeeker said:
Big 10 yes. Village Wok, meh. Shuang Cheng is better.

I'm all for development. Build, build, build.
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I agree with Shuang Cheng being better, but Village Wok being so close to Coffman Union and open late nights (at least back in the mid 90's) was a religious thing for my friends and I. Nothing like decent food after studying all evening. I hope they find a way to keep it there.
 

Holy Man said:
Time to chain ourselves to the doors before the bulldozers get there. Really bad news. The owner is right. We're losing too many institutions on campus. Love the Big Ten, but the Wok was a great place for a lot of food on a college student's budget back in the 80's. What's next? Al's?
Click to expand...

Worked at the Big Ten, then called the Brick House from 79-81, ate many a meal of shrimp fried rice from the Wok. The sub shop was separate back then, but still very good. Bucket night was on Wednesday, $1.75 for a bucket of beer.
 

Back in my time 2006-2011, they had 241's like 4 days out of the week. My group would often be the only table there on late weeknights. Plus free popcorn!
 



Gdizzle said:
Back in my time 2006-2011, they had 241's like 4 days out of the week. My group would often be the only table there on late weeknights. Plus free popcorn!
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How much would you typically spend each night on that free popcorn? :cool:
 

I'm still having a hard time getting over the loss of Campus Pizza.
 


Love the BigTen! I hear the restaurant replacing it is selling seat licenses.:D
 



This is downright depressing. I know this is a purely economic decision, but I have to ask the question: is this what the students of today want? Maybe they prefer the chains down the block to the older, more unique (and better) places because that's what they grew up with in their suburban strip mall-scapes. Maybe it's just us older alumni who value the Big 10 and the Wok - and the dearly departed Campus Pizza.
 


I recently finished my senior year at the U, and some of my friends and I have made a tradition of hitting up the Big Ten every Tuesday night for $1 Keystone. I'd definitely miss the Big Ten if it goes.
 

Aargh

I'm not taking this potential news well.
 

Ope3 said:
I'm not taking this potential news well.
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Me, neither. A pretzel-bun burger @ Stub & Herb's just doesn't cut it as a Gopher pregame meal.

A Big Ten sub is #2 on my all-time (hot) sub list, just a tick behind Hogan Brothers in Northfield. They're 1-2, the order flips, and no one else is close.

Let's cross our fingers.
 



Winnipegopher said:
What kind do you get at Big Ten?
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Full roast beef sub. Best subs I have ever had. I don't think they put a lot of the juices and seasonings that they use to use on it anymore though but still is great. Love all the lettuce.
 


Subs

Winnipegopher said:
What kind do you get at Big Ten?
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Back when I lived on campus, I'd just get whatever their lunch special was and could not go wrong.

Now usually I get either corned beef or pastrami with swiss instead of mozzarella. If I get roast beef I stay with mozzarella.
 




Thursday's for cheap halfs of roast beef on my way back from science lab... Bliss.
 

I tend to go reuben (reubens always suck me in but the Big Ten's don't disappoint) but will go roast beef next time I think. Are you allowed half and half? If so I will go half roast beef and half turkey next time. Mind you pastrami and Swiss sounds good.
 


Pastrami and pepper jack...I could go for some onion rings too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

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