Molly Quinn's Sadness

Last night was the last ever pub quiz at Molly Quinn's Irish Pub. So I went with Brian, my uncle-in-law. We got there an hour early and still had to stand. This speaks more to the square-footage of Molly Quinn's (or lack therefore of) as it does the crowd that showed up.

So I had my final drafts of Boddington's and Brian and I mustered out a respectable score of 34 out of 50 (42 was the winning score). My biggest contribution was knowing Rocky Marciano was the boxer who died in an Iowa plane crash. The most memorable bit of trivia I learned was President Gerald Ford was born Leslie King Jr. (we guessed Taft--whoops).

Anwyay, Molly Quinn's is such a friendly place. It s so easy to strike up a conversation with anyone around you. I like co-owner (and pub quiz author) Wild Bill Watkin's quote: "An Irish pub is not a bar. It is a place where you can take your grandmother or your granddaughter."


Image from http://www.twincitiesdiningguide.com/restaurants/molly_quinns_irish_pub.htm

So, why is Molly Quinn's closing? Some of you may know the answer to this already. The short answer is "it's closing for total bullshit reasons." The longer answer is SuperAmerica, the ubiquitous Twin Cities gas station/convenience store is expanding and gave the Molly Quinn's landlords a lucrative deal to evict Wild Bill and the gang. All so the gas station can take over the whole block. The really nifty thing is this all going down on 43rd Ave and Lake Street. The next closest SuperAmerica is just FIVE FUCKING BLOCKS AWAY on 38th and Lake.

We live close to 40th Street and Lyndale Avenue, where there are two SuperAmericas across the street from each other (one on the SE corner and the other on the SW). Maybe I should start boycotting SuperAmerica.

Either way, it is sad that Molly Quinn's is closing. The only solace is Wild Bill plans to take his pub quiz act to the Dubliner in St. Paul. As Brian and I were leaving the owners got together and began singing a series of songs. Brian said he felt as if we were leaving someone's private party. That sums it all up, I think.