Formerly: Fransen's
Minneapolis, Minnesota · Founded 1934 · Building: 1902
Gluek's occupies a 1902 brewery tied-house building, but today's restaurant lineage began as Fransen's after Prohibition and was renamed Gluek's in 1979.
Gluek's Restaurant & Bar occupies the 1902 Gluek Building at 16 N 6th Street in downtown Minneapolis, a Beaux Arts brewery tied house built by Gluek Brewing Company. The original bar closed during Prohibition, and the present restaurant lineage began in the 1933–34 repeal era as Fransen's under the Holcomb family. The family bought the building in 1958, renamed the restaurant Gluek's in 1979, and rebuilt it after a major 1989 fire gutted the interior.
German immigrant Gottlieb Gluek founded the Gluek Brewing Company in Minneapolis.
Source: City of Minneapolis, Gluek Building landmark history; Hennepin History, 'Older Than Minnesota: Gluek Brewing,' July 2, 2019.
Gluek Brewing Company opened the Gluek Building at 16 N 6th Street as a bar and restaurant in Minneapolis's downtown entertainment district. Architects Christopher Boehme and Victor Cordella designed the brick-and-masonry Beaux Arts building with terra-cotta details.
Source: City of Minneapolis, Gluek Building landmark history; Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association, Gluek's Restaurant and Bar historic signage entry; Gluek's official Story page.
The tied-house bar closed during national Prohibition. Gluek Brewing Company kept its larger brewery organization operating through legal near-beer and malt-related products, but this did not establish continuous restaurant or legal bar operation at 16 N 6th Street.
Source: Hennepin History, 'Older Than Minnesota: Gluek Brewing,' July 2, 2019; Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association, Gluek's Restaurant and Bar historic signage entry.
After Prohibition ended, the building was sold by Gluek Brewing Company and reopened in the repeal era as Fransen's. Sources differ on whether the operating start should be dated 1933 or 1934.
Source: Gluek's official Story page; City of Minneapolis, Gluek Building landmark history; Fox 9, 'Gluek's Bar and Restaurant in downtown Minneapolis celebrates 90 years,' July 17, 2024.
The Holcomb family began leasing and operating the post-Prohibition Fransen's bar in the Gluek Building, beginning the current family's long association with the property.
Source: Fox 9, July 17, 2024; Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association, Gluek's Restaurant and Bar historic signage entry.
After leasing the Gluek Building since 1934, the Holcomb family purchased it.
Source: Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association, Gluek's Restaurant and Bar historic signage entry.
The Holcomb family remodeled Fransen's Bar, restored the exterior and interior toward a Bavarian beer-hall style, added food service, and renamed the business Gluek's Restaurant and Bar.
Source: Gluek's official Story page; Fox 9, July 17, 2024; Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association, Gluek's Restaurant and Bar historic signage entry.
The City of Minneapolis designated the Gluek Building exterior as a historic property.
Source: Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association, Gluek's Restaurant and Bar historic signage entry; City of Minneapolis, Gluek Building landmark history.
A major fire, reportedly started by a tenant with a lit cigarette in the rooming house above, gutted the Gluek Building interior. Sources conflict on casualties, so no definitive death or injury count is stated here.
Source: Gluek's official Story page; Fox 9, July 17, 2024; Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association, Gluek's Restaurant and Bar historic signage entry.
After about nine months of reconstruction, Gluek's reopened. Restoration work used photographs from the 1979 remodel to recreate the Bavarian beer-hall floor plan, woodwork, stained glass, and vaulted-ceiling appearance.
Source: Gluek's official Story page; Fox 9, July 17, 2024; Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association, Gluek's Restaurant and Bar historic signage entry.
Fox 9 reported that a fourth-generation Holcomb family member was helping run Gluek's, reflecting the family's continuing relationship to the restaurant.
Source: Fox 9, 'Gluek's Bar and Restaurant in downtown Minneapolis celebrates 90 years,' July 17, 2024.
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
The City of Minneapolis identifies the Gluek Building as opening in 1902 as a bar and restaurant built by Gluek Brewing Company. Historic-signage documentation says the brewery built the bar, supplied its beer, and leased it to managers. The 1902 date applies to the building and the original tied-house operation, not automatically to the present Gluek's restaurant business.
The original tied-house bar closed during Prohibition, and the Gluek Brewing Company sold the building in 1933. The present restaurant lineage began as Fransen's in the 1933–34 repeal era and was renamed Gluek's in 1979. The 1902 building date does not prove uninterrupted operation of the current bar or restaurant.
The City of Minneapolis says Gluek Brewing Company sold the building in 1933, while Gluek's own history says the business reopened as Fransen's as Prohibition ended. Fox 9 says the Holcomb family's great-grandfather bought the bar in 1934 after repeal. These sources establish the post-Prohibition Fransen's origin but differ slightly on the exact start year and transfer mechanics.
Historic-signage documentation says the Holcomb family leased the building from 1934 and bought it in 1958. Fox 9 described a fourth-generation Holcomb family member as part of the restaurant's current operation in 2024. Corporate and property records are still needed to document every ownership transfer and current operating-entity relationship.
Gluek's own history and Minneapolis historic-signage documentation say the Holcomb family remodeled Fransen's in 1979, restored it toward a Bavarian beer-hall aesthetic, and changed the name to Gluek's Restaurant and Bar.
The City of Minneapolis, Fox 9, and Gluek's own history agree that the 1989 fire gutted the interior, leaving a brick shell. Reconstruction used photographs of the 1979 renovation to recreate the floor plan, woodwork, stained glass, and vaulted-ceiling appearance, and the restaurant reopened on February 1, 1990. Sources disagree about the fire's casualty count, so that detail remains omitted.
Gluek's and some local history sources call it Minneapolis's oldest restaurant, but the present restaurant lineage began as Fransen's after Prohibition in 1933–34. No citywide comparison has been completed that evaluates older Minneapolis restaurants by founding identity, building date, closures, predecessor businesses, ownership, and continuity. The register does not certify the title.
Gluek's Restaurant & Bar has operated continuously as a bar since 1902.
The Gluek Building was built as a tied-house bar and restaurant in 1902, but the original bar closed during Prohibition. The present business lineage began as Fransen's in the 1933–34 repeal era and became Gluek's Restaurant and Bar in 1979.
Source: Hennepin History, 'Older Than Minnesota: Gluek Brewing,' July 2, 2019; City of Minneapolis, Gluek Building landmark history; Gluek's official Story page.
Gluek's is still owned or operated by the Gluek Brewing family.
Gluek Brewing Company built the 1902 tied-house building but sold it in 1933. The Holcomb family leased the building beginning in 1934, bought it in 1958, and continues to be associated with the post-Prohibition restaurant operation.
Source: City of Minneapolis, Gluek Building landmark history; Fox 9, July 17, 2024; Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association, Gluek's Restaurant and Bar historic signage entry.
The woodwork and beer-hall interior at Gluek's are entirely original from 1902.
The 1989 fire gutted the interior. The restaurant reopened in February 1990 after a reconstruction that used photographs from the 1979 renovation to recreate the Bavarian beer-hall design within the surviving historic building shell.
Source: Gluek's official Story page; City of Minneapolis, Gluek Building landmark history; Fox 9, July 17, 2024.
The 1989 fire killed a definitively known number of tenants.
Sources conflict about casualties: Gluek's official history refers to three tenant deaths, while Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association material says one resident died and five others were hospitalized. This record does not state a casualty count until fire-department and contemporary news records are reviewed.
Source: Gluek's official Story page; Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association, Gluek's Restaurant and Bar historic signage entry.
Gluek's survived because a later family operation recognized the value of an old brewery building without pretending the building and business were always the same thing. The Holcomb family kept the post-Prohibition Fransen's bar alive, rebranded it as Gluek's Restaurant and Bar in 1979, and restored its historic setting after the 1989 fire left a charred brick shell. The rebuilt room uses the old Bavarian beer-hall idea—woodwork, stained glass, vaulted ceilings, and steins—as a reconstruction of the building's character rather than a claim that every interior element survived from 1902.
Gluek's Restaurant & Bar occupies the 1902 Gluek Building at 16 N 6th Street in Minneapolis, originally built by Gluek Brewing Company as a tied-house bar and restaurant. The original bar closed during Prohibition, and the present business lineage began as Fransen's in the 1933–34 repeal era. The Holcomb family later bought the building, renamed the business Gluek's in 1979, and rebuilt it after a 1989 fire gutted the interior.
No verified evidence establishes Gluek's as Minneapolis's oldest continuously operating bar. The building dates to 1902, but the original tied-house bar closed during Prohibition and the present Fransen's/Gluek's restaurant lineage began after repeal in 1933–34. Gluek's is a major historic downtown beer-hall restaurant, but the register does not certify an oldest-bar title.
Yes. Hennepin History says the original Gluek's restaurant/bar was forced to close because of Prohibition. Gluek Brewing Company kept its brewery organization active through legal near-beer and malt-related products, but that brewery survival did not mean the downtown tied-house bar continued operating. The building reopened as Fransen's after repeal in the 1933–34 period.
No. The current post-Prohibition restaurant lineage began as Fransen's in the 1933–34 era. The Holcomb family remodeled the business in 1979 and renamed it Gluek's Restaurant and Bar, drawing on the building's earlier connection to the Gluek Brewing Company.
Yes. A major fire in April 1989 gutted the building interior, leaving a charred brick shell. The owners rebuilt Gluek's over about nine months and reopened it on February 1, 1990, using photographs from a 1979 renovation to recreate the Bavarian beer-hall design. The current interior reflects that reconstruction, not an intact 1902 room.
16 N 6th St, Minneapolis, MN 55403
(612) 338-6621
Gluek's is a downtown Minneapolis beer-hall restaurant in the historic Gluek Building. Check current hours, food service, private events, and nearby event-day conditions directly before visiting.