5916 EXCELSIOR BLVD.
El Patio to Bunny's

Many thanks to Kent Hazen for the information on the Cotton Club.  Please contact us if you have any additions or corrections. 

The nightclub at 5916 Excelsior Blvd., now known as Bunny’s, has a rich history. According to City tax records, the building was built in 1920. An entry on a building permit dated 3/28/1929 indicates that the establishment was known as the Hollywood Inn, but that is a bit confusing; there are indications that the Hollywood Inn was operated across the street at the Brookside Drug site from perhaps 1926 to 1929. The permit was for a barbeque place, and the owner was listed as Ed Nolan.

1941
 

Evidence of the El Patio Cafe and Dance Club, pronounced "el PAY sho," goes back to at least 1930. In December of 1932, Village Council minutes identify James Spain as the President of El Patio Cafe, Inc. This was a bar, restaurant, and dance hall. One of the classiest establishments on the Boulevard, in the early days it catered to the Country Club and University crowds.

The owners were collectively known as “the Greeks:”

· John Eliopolis (known as John Ellis) was born on May 22,1897 [July 24, 1899 in Greece]. He lived in Robbinsdale with his wife Canella and daughter Stavroula Joanne. After he sold El Patio he went on to run Ellis’s Log Cabin Restaurant in Crystal. By the mid 1960’s he had returned to Greece, and he died in Athens in January 1979 [January 13, 1976, Golden Valley]. Ellis was a prominent member of the community, belonging to the AHEPA Lodge, Compass Lodge, Zurah Temple, and Lions Club.

· James Spaice (aka James Spain?)

· George Broumas (aka George Brown) was born on January 5, 1890 and also died in Athens in October 1972.

"The Greeks," were strict on liquor, although one Sunday night a big band came in and a lot of "cold coffee" was served. Toward the end of Prohibition 3.2 beer ("select?") was legal, and customers would buy a bottle and supply their own harder stuff.

There is some speculation about the history of the Cotton Club. Some remember it being there for years, with the words Cotton Club written in big letters on the roof. We found a reference to the "Cotton Club (El Patio) in a 1934 Echowan.  The only other physical evidence of it we find is in the 1937 city directory, which listed the establishment as El Patio-Cotton Club. People remember the Cotton Club as a "bootleg joint" that officially offered setups only during Prohibition (which would be pre-1934). It was most likely still El Patio during those years, as evidenced by mentions in the Village Council Minutes and village directories.

The Cotton Club was run by Pete Koralis, a relative of one of the Greeks who owned El Patio. In 1934 he brought in Boyd Atkins from Chicago to lead the band of local musicians he then presented at the Cotton Club. Among the local players are trumpeter Rook Ganz and tenor saxophonist Harry Pettiford. Atkins was a composer/arranger of some stature who also played reeds & piano. In 1935, Koralis brought in Lester Young (who had just left the Andy Kirk Band in Kansas City) to replace Pettiford. Lester was with the Atkins band at the Cotton Club in 1936 when he received a telegram from Count Basie asking him to join his band back in Kansas City. Lester made his seminal recordings with Basie that same year. Although there were local, white musicians, the club was known for featuring black musicians who were barred for performing in Minneapolis. Atkins led the Cotton Club band until 1940, when he moved on to lead a band at a club in Peoria, Illinois.

During the Depression, El Patio provided meals to the needy.

In 1939, an article described how the proprietors were fined $25 for staying open too late. The same article said that the "roadhouse was a favorite spot for jitterbugs and high school youths." In a Village council hearing about the matter, the indignant crowd and even the Mayor himself mentioned rumors about the place; one citizen was quote thusly: “It is a known fact that they have been catering to high school kids for years, serving near beer to be spiked.”

David Duff the restaurant reviewer seemed to think that the establishment was known as “Pete’s Place” at the end of 1945.

At some point (1943? 1950?) the restaurant featured the Chateau Room, with murals of French royalty on the ceiling. David Duff seemed to think that the whole restaurant was called The Chateau and that it was owned by Fred Ossanna. A neighbor remembers that it was closed for quite awhile before opening again as Culbertson's.

From 1946 to 1968, Ted J. Culbertson ran Culbertson's Cafe, an upscale steakhouse. This restaurant, along with Jennings, was said to be patronized mostly by people outside of St. Louis Park. Journalists were known to hang out there. In the early 1940's, Ted Culbertson had been a co-owner with Keith McCarthy of McCarthy's.

The building was originally all frame construction, but several additions were made from masonry. One such addition was made at El Patio in September 1940. A 1946 article described a terraced lounge. But by 1947, the building was in pretty bad condition when the Building Inspector wrote a letter to the Village Council citing numerous violations and insisting that there oughta be a law. Things were apparently cleared up, and a 24’ by 60’ room was added on the west side in August 1948. Boe Construction Inc. built an addition in April 1958, perhaps prompted by a fire at the restaurant that January. (The owner’s name on the application was Frand Edey.) A further addition was built by Culbertson in 1963. One of the many charming features of the place was a “pass-through” from the ladies room to a service bar, so that ladies could get drinks without their husbands knowing about it.

George Faust, a former U of M football hero, was the next to run the establishment, heading up George Faust's Restaurant and Liquor Storium from October 1968 to 1971. The liquor license was transferred from Perry Halseth (not Ted Culbertson).  Turns out George’s glory days were back in the ’30’s, and his businessman clientele grew weary of the stories. Faust went back to his previous profession selling frozen meat. The layout included an oyster bar, sportsman’s bar, and a piano bar.

Next came the Anchor Inn, which opened in December 1971. Its owners were Eldon Rothgeb, Louis Gydesen, and Lyle “Silver Fox” Ebeling, who was also the manager. It was the second Anchor Inn owned by Gydesen. The restaurant featured all all-you-can-eat format, which spelled disaster for the waitresses who had worked for Culbertson and Faust, as they no longer got tips.  An ad in the local section of the TV Guide on July 23, 1980 featured a frog with an "A" on its sweater.  The ad listed five Anchor Inn restaurants; the others were in Bayport, Inver Grove Heights, Moundsview, and Prior Lake.  The restaurant had a long run, lasting until 1981. [On June 17, 1972 there was a fire that was deemed suspicious – outcome?]

David Bongiorno sold his Mama Rosa’s Restaurant in Minneapolis and opened the Bon Giorno Italian Restaurant in St. Louis Park in August 1981. He advertised “Italian Food Prepared the Northern and Southern Way.” A review dated July 1982 deemed the food magnificent, but unfortunately, Bongiorno spent too much time and money fixing the place up and the establishment was gone sometime after March 1983.
 

In September 1983, Duggan's American Bar and Steakhouse came into being. Bill Duggan was born on December 31, 1923, and grew up on a farm at 62nd and Highway 100 in Edina, which his parents sold and became a large subdivision in 1953. Duggan went to Park High in 1940, since Edina didn't have a high school at the time, and was a friend of Jim Jennings. He died on January 13, 1996, and his daughter and son-in-law continued Duggan’s until 1998.

In 1998, two problems were solved when the original Bunny's building at 4730 Excelsior Blvd. fell to the wrecking ball and owner Gary Rackner moved Bunny’s up the Boulevard.

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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.