Nye’s Polonaise was a Northeast Minneapolis institution. It stood on the southeastern edge of the working-class immigrant neighborhood at 112 E. Hennepin Avenue for almost sixty-six years, growing from unassuming roots as a workingman’s bar into one of the regions’ most celebrated establishments. Nye’s unabashedly stayed the same throughout it all, maintaining the same decor, core staff, and attitude while the city changed around it.
North Minneapolis native Albin “Al” Nye purchased “Heffron’s Bar” on the corner of East Hennepin Avenue and Lourdes Place (org. Prince Street) on August 1, 1950. The blue-collar bar was soon renamed Nye’s Bar. Expansion occurred three times, beginning in 1964, adding on a restaurant and polka lounge (the Polonaise Room), piano bar (Chopin Dining Room), and additional space in a former cafe once known as the “Dog House.”
This change not only created the informal “old side” and “new side,” separated by a swinging door, but also brought food and live entertainment to the establishment. Polish dishes, which pared well with polka on the dance floor in the Polonaise (a Polish style of dance) Room, were an opportunity for the owner and much of the Northeast community to celebrate their roots. For years owner Al Nye made the sauerkraut at home from a secret recipe. The restaurant offered other dishes but became well-known for its Polish fare.