Neumann's Bar
North St. Paul, Minnesota · Gilded Age · Est. 1887 · Open today
Since 1887
Bill Neumann founded Neumann's in 1887 to serve Hamm's beer to the small but rapidly growing community of North St. Paul. The bar has never closed — not for the Great Depression and not during Prohibition, when it sold legal near beer at the main bar, bait to local fishermen out of the basement, and ran a speakeasy upstairs. It is widely cited as Minnesota's oldest continually operating bar, a claim strengthened by the fact that it has kept the Neumann name for its entire existence. It still operates daily at 2531 East Seventh Avenue with food and live music.
During Prohibition, Neumann's ran a three-tier operation: legal near beer at the main bar, fishing bait sold out of the basement, and a speakeasy upstairs.
What to order: Ice-cold beer — the bar was founded in 1887 specifically to serve Hamm's beer to North St. Paul.
How solid is the claim?
Minnesota’s oldest bar — the evidence
Neumann's Bar in North St. Paul is our featured pick for the oldest bar in Minnesota, with a claimed founding year of 1887. The consensus pick (Star Tribune, KSTP) as Minnesota's oldest bar because it has operated continuously under the same name since 1887 — never closing, even during Prohibition. Two rivals trace to 1885 (The Spot Bar, Cuzzy's location) but both have breaks in continuity or name/ownership churn; one researcher called it a three-way tie, keeping the debate alive.
Competing Claims
Other Minnesota establishments with a stake in the title:
Sources
- 1. Neumann's — Minnesota's Oldest Bar (Official Site)
- 2. Neumann's History — Minnesota's Oldest Saloon
- 3. What's the oldest bar in Minnesota? — Star Tribune
- 4. So Minnesota: Neumann's Bar & Grill, known as oldest bar in state — KSTP
- 5. Ghosts of Maurer's Saloon: The surprising history of Cuzzy's — The Growler