Summary
"This is one of the last real neighborhood bars left in the city," [Scott Martin] said. "The trend in the industry is toward an Applebee's or some other chain place. I don't know why people think it's more attractive than going to a good, smoky neighborhood bar. I'm lucky. [Simon Lundberg]'s is a busy place because of what it is - because it isn't Applebee's or Bennigans - and because the neighborhood is what it is. I feel like I could almost be a dinosaur. I will fight to say, 'absolutely this is the right kind of place,' the kind of place where you can sit down and drink a beer and have a conversation with somebody."
Martin still has the speakeasy door, complete with a steel peephole and a cryptic "n.n. Club" scratched into the wood. Neighborhood rumor is the "n.n." meant "No Norwegians." Martin said the truth was a bit simpler: "It stands for 'No Name' Club." When Simon Lundberg retired, his son [Roy Lundberg] took over before he sold the place to Martin slightly less than 14 years ago. Since then, Martin has made few, if any, changes to the bar. When Lundberg decorated the place in 1933 when it officially opened as a tavern, he borrowed a page from the grandeur of transatlantic ocean liners. He decorated the tavern similarly to the luxury passenger ship Normandie, complete with portholes for windows."I think about the part (Swedes) played in the city, just like all the other ethnic groups," he said. "Sometimes I get sad because the neighborhood isn't like that anymore, but the neighborhood is still great and I'm proud to represent what it used to be. Get me in there on any given night and I'll give people a tour and they'll know it's a Swedish neighborhood."See the full content of this document
Extract
All It Takes Is Five Cents
"This is one of the last real neighborhood bars left in the city," Martin said. "The trend in the industry is toward an Applebee's or some other chain place. I don't know why people think it's more attractive than going to a good, smoky neighborhood bar. I'm lucky. Simon's is a busy place because of what it is - because it isn't Applebee's or Bennigans - and because th...
See the full content of this document
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