First look at the ‘refurbished’ Whiskey Junction ~harald 2007.02.01
On a cold but sunny Sunday, the 28th of January 2007 I was granted an exclusive first look at the progress being made inside Whiskey Junction. Tom O’Shea, the owner, provided a narrated tour and allowed me to take photo’s to be published on the West Bank Motorcycle Club web site. Don’t bother looking in the Star Tribune or St. Paul Pioneer Press – The story and pictures of
Whiskey Junction’s insides will only be found here.
When coming in the main door, the first thing you will notice is the refinished bar. The top has been scraped, sanded and a heavy gloss coating reflects the lights and signage over the bar. Enough of the old dings and gouges have been left to provide reminders to the ‘old timers’ of the fun times and the newer patrons will get the feeling that there may be a bit of interesting history in the dings and gouges.
The old photo’s and guitars still line the wall and at the front center is the stage that has hosted so many good shows.
The bar side will retain the booths and on the right of the stage there will again be a good amount of seating.
Moving on around the back end of the bar we see that Little, the manager, Jeff Corbet and John Ryan have interrupted their main fixing and refurbishing chores to take up brooms, dust pans and mops as they try their best to control the dust and dirt that are part of every refurbishing job.
Spinning around to the back we see the fun-room mirror that we all love to look into as we make that inevitable trip to the can. I asked Tom if he could turn the mirror around to the ‘thin’ side but he just kind of shrugged and pulled his head to the side – that could mean that he may consider this; just maybe.
Taking a peek into the bathrooms shows us that they are clean and bright with only
the floors waiting for their final polishing.
Going
back down through the large 'game' room we see that the walls have been redone in something like
Grass Green or Spring Green, which will brighten up the room. Once the floors have been stripped and polished the pool tables will return to their places but this time with the orange beds being replaced with the more traditional green felt.
Moving further down
we get to the kitchen where we see that it has been refinished in a bright white, appliances updated and more shelf space added. When all of the dishes are put away, the kitchen will be ready to serve up a great menu at reasonable prices for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The great Mac’s pizza that we all have gotten used to will also be back – single slice or the whole thing made just the way you like it.
All of the hard stuff is done; the major work is out of the way. Another coat on the bar and then the floor gets its final polishing.
The final inspection and final license approvals should be out of the way within the next couple of weeks. Tom expects that he will be able to open around the end of February or early in March.
John Ryan, Jeff Corbet, Tom O'Shea (owner) and Little (manager) behind the bar.
Tom said that there is a good possibility that he will be adding root beer on tap, 1919 Draft Root Beer or A&W would be great, and there will be more than enough food and pizza to keep those thirsty and hungry Wednesday and Saturday riders satisfied. And it would be another reason to stop in on other nights for some Blues & Food.
Tom is looking forward to seeing and welcoming the West Bank Motorcycle Club membership during what he expects to be another very busy season.
More information on Whiskey Junction is available on the following pages:
Whiskey Junction Photo’s Whiskey Junction Historical Facts Whiskey Junction Overview