MN Capitol’s stately cafe reopens for first time since March 2020 - St. Paul Pioneer Press

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Minnesota House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, lower left of photo, and Rep. Anne Neu Brindley, R-North Branch, greet acquaintances as they enter the Rathskeller Cafe inside the Minnesota Capitol Monday, March 21, 2022. The cafeteria had been closed since March 2020 from the coronavirus pandemic. (Dave Orrick / Pioneer Press)

Jon Kelly, director of government affairs for the Minnesota Department of Commerce, was so excited he wore socks with hamburgers on them.

Jeremy Estenson, a lobbyist with the Taft law firm, described it as “by far, the best day in a long time.”

Rep. Marion O’Neill, R-Maple Lake, invited her son, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren to celebrate.

And what was the momentous occasion? The cafeteria was open.

In a small-but-symbolic signal that the heart of Minnesota’s government is returning to its pre-pandemic rhythms, the Rathskeller Cafe inside the basement of the Minnesota Capitol reopened to the public Monday after being closed since March 2020, when coronavirus concerns shut it down.

Jon Kelly, director of government affairs for the Minnesota Department of Commerce, shows off his hamburger socks he wore to celebrate the reopening of the Rathskeller Cafe inside the Minnesota Capitol Monday, March 21, 2022. The cafeteria had been closed since March 2020 from the coronavirus pandemic. (Dave Orrick / Pioneer Press)

Traffic was modest Monday inside the Rathskeller, a stately Beaux-Arts hall with German-themed frescoes overlooking mosaic-tile flooring. (Rathkellers, or ratskellers, originated in Germany as bars or restaurants in governmental building basements.)

“Sales were good, but not great,” said Larry Wojciechowski, district manager for Taher Catering Services, which for more than a decade has contracted with the state to run the Rathskeller and several other cafeterias in state-owned buildings, including two others on the Capitol campus. “Hopefully, as the word gets out, people will get back into the habit.”

For as long as anyone can remember, the archways and alcoves that were part of architect Cass Gilbert’s original design of the Capitol have afforded lawmakers, lobbyists and others who walk the halls of influence a chance to hobnob and share a meal. When the Legislature is in session, the place can be a bustling mishmash of lawmakers hustling for a bite between meetings, sign-toting activists, foreign tourists and perhaps a clutch of field-tripping schoolchildren.

That all ended March 17, 2020, when the Capitol — and much of the state — all but shut down for the pandemic. But the Rathskeller wasn’t mothballed. State workers kept the facility in working order, and when civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd prompted hundreds of law enforcement and National Guard soldiers to quarter in the halls of the Capitol, it briefly reopened to serve them.

However, for those who clock in at the Capitol — primarily staff, lawmakers, journalists and lobbyists — the absence of an on-site food option has been a nagging reminder of a diminished existence since the building reopened to the public in June.

Matt Quist, corporate chef for Taher Catering Services, serves up a cheeseburger and fries to lobbyist Jeremy Estenson inside the Rathskeller Cafe inside the Minnesota Capitol Monday, March 21, 2022. The cafeteria had been closed since March 2020 from the coronavirus pandemic. (Dave Orrick / Pioneer Press)

“I couldn’t really enjoy lunch with my son,” said Christine Zimmer, a veteran lobbyist who on Monday dined with her son, Dom Lonetti, legislative assistant for state Sen. John Jasinski, R-Faribault.

A recent college grad who started his job last year, Lonetti used to cruise the Capitol halls and tunnels in Heelys (wheeled shoes) as a youngster. “I have vague memories of coming here to eat with my mom, but since I’ve been working here, I haven’t been able to actually eat here. I’ve just been brown-bagging it,” he said.

HOUSE OFFICES OPEN

Monday also marked the first day the State Office Building, which houses the offices of the House of Representatives, reopened to anyone other than staff and House members, with limited hours and restrictions. The Senate Office Building has been open for some time, but also with restrictions.

The other cafeterias around the Capitol campus, which traditionally served the thousands of state workers who office there, have yet to announce their reopening dates.

Charlotte OÕNeill shows off a chocolate chip cookie to her mom, Elise OÕNeill while another daughter, Avery, tugs on her motherÕs arm inside the Rathskeller Cafe inside the Minnesota Capitol Monday, March 21, 2022. In the background are Jame OÕNeill, left, and his mother, state Rep. Marion OÕNeill, R-Maple Lake. The cafeteria had been closed since March 2020 from the coronavirus pandemic. (Dave Orrick / Pioneer Press)

“We’ve got to be really cautious about reopenings,” Wojciechowski said. “You could have a place with 500 workers and 500 people at work, or you could have a place with 5,000 workers and five people are at work.”

The Rathskeller Cafe is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays while the Legislature is in session.

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