Palmer's Bar
Permanently Closed
Iconic dive bar with strong drinks, live music, and patio
Iconic dive bar with strong drinks, live music, and patio
"An iconic West Bank dive bar that opened in 1906 and was known for cheap drinks and nightly live music ranging from punk to folk to blues; the owners announced it will close for good in September and wrote: "We will be open regular hours until bar close[s] on September 14th with a jam-packed calendar and plenty of time to party and say farewell. Please join us in saying goodbye to a West Bank institution, raise a glass to all the good times and great people, and make it a last summer to remember here at Palmer’s Bar." - Jeffy Mai
"Palmer’s has been a beloved West Bank bar since 1906—and owner Tony Zaccardi has been at the helm since 2018. This a salt-of-the-earth kind of place, perhaps Minneapolis’s most quintessential dive. “One of my favorite mantras about Palmer’s is that it’s very much Black, white, rich, poor, gay, straight, trans, left, right, it kind of doesn’t matter. Everyone’s welcome here until you’re an asshole,” says Zaccardi. There’s a nightly live music calendar, so come catch a show on Palmer’s famously tiny, triangular stage, sip a Hamm’s on the patio, or swing by for the legendary Cornbread Harris’s weekly performances. No need for a designated driver to have a safe and rowdy night; this dive is located near both the Green and Blue train lines, and the Hiawatha Light Rail trail is nearby for easy bikeability." - Justine Jones
"Palmer’s has been a beloved West Bank bar since 1906 — and owner Tony Zaccardi has been at the helm since 2018. This a salt-of-the-earth kind of place, perhaps Minneapolis’s most quintessential dive. As Zaccardi told Growler Magazine: “One of my favorite mantras about Palmer’s, is that it’s very much Black, white, rich, poor, gay, straight, trans, left, right, it kind of doesn’t matter. Everyone’s welcome here until you’re an asshole.” There’s a nightly live music calendar, so come catch a show on Palmer’s famously tiny, triangular stage — or swing by for the legendary Cornbread Harris’s weekly performances." - Eater Staff
"This iconic dive bar, purchased by Tony Zaccardi in 2018, was boarded up during the unrest. It reopened with safety protocols and creative scheduling, allowing all willing employees to return." - Joy Summers
"Palmer’s opened at 500 Cedar Avenue South in 1906, made it through Prohibition and served as the setting for a couple of scenes in the locally filmed Charles Bukowski biopic, Factotum. It’s a landmark of a neighborhood bar and Zaccardi understands what makes this place so special. That’s why, according to a Star Tribune article, owner Lisa Hamner chose him to carry on the tradition. Hamner had been looking to sell the bar after the unexpected death of her husband Keith Berg in 2015." - Joy Summers