A popular St. Paul gathering place has abruptly closed its doors, ending a six-year run in a historic building. The sudden announcement came just days after the restaurant was burglarized, although the owner says the break-in was not responsible for the closure.
The Gnome closes immediately
The Gnome Craft Pub, located at 498 Selby Ave. in St. Paul’s Cathedral Hill neighborhood, announced Friday, August 21, that it was closing permanently. The pub had operated for six years under restaurateurs Brian and Sarah Ingram’s Purpose Restaurants group.
The restaurant opened in August 2020, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ingrams transformed a historic former firehouse into the pub and expanded its outdoor patio.
Building problems behind closure
According to owner Brian Ingram, the decision came after the restaurant discovered significant problems with the building that could not be overcome as tenants.
The Gnome had already been closed during the week for roof repairs. Ingram said an inspection of a roof leak revealed substantially more damage than the business initially knew about. The restaurant leases the historic property rather than owning it…