Home | 1933 Remodel | 1941 Remodel | Postcards | Memorabilia | Photos / Videos
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Welcome to the "Historic" Van's Cafe web site. In these pages you will find the history of the restaurant and of the families that ran it. Postcards has the various historic postcards for the Cafe. Memorabilia shows the various "Van's Cafe Branded" items. Photos has pictures of special events held inside the Cafe. Enjoy!
In 1885, Charles F. Kindred, a mover and shaker in early Brainerd, built the Villard Hotel on the northwest corner of 6th and Main. It burned down in 1887, and, impatient with the cleanup of the current site, he excavated the northeast corner (Van's Cafe corner) to build the foundation for a new hotel. But before construction of the hotel started, he went bankrupt and left the area.
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In 1904, on New Years Day, the Arlington Hotel, on the southwest corner of 6th and Main, burned down. The restaurant in that hotel was probably where railroad passengers would grab a bite to eat (the Depot was on the southest corner of 6th and Main). The Northern Pacific Railroad Company was eager to get another restaurant up and running soon and wanted the manager of the Arlington to operate a Lunch Counter of some kind. The cost of the building was an initial sticking point.
By 1907, and possibly earlier, the "N. P. Lunch Room" was in business "west of the Depot" (which was where the Arlington Hotel was on the west side of Sixth) and was being run by Clayton D. Herbert (behind the counter in the photo to the right).
In 1906, the Brainerd Lumber Company sawmill in east Brainerd closed.
The machinery, originally from a sawmill at Gull River, west of Baxter,
was moved to places farther north.
A May 24, 1895 article in the Brainerd Dispatch about the sawmill
beginning its milling operations said that a new office building
(see photo, below right) was then under construction.
Turn of the century maps show that it was on the NE corner of Mill Avenue
and Water (now "Q") Street, where the ball field parking lot is today.
This building was sold in 1908 to C. D. "Dick" Herbert.
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| August 28, 1908, Brainerd Dispatch, article on page 2: | |
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He moved it to a newly-completed foundation on the northeast corner
of 6th and Main and opened the "Depot Lunch Room", so named
because the original Northern Pacific Railroad Depot
was across the street on the southeast corner and
he operated a lunch room west of the Depot.
(That original Depot burned in 1917.)
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Noted area historian Carl Zapffe wrote in his Brainerd, Minnesota, 1871-1946 : 75th Anniversary book: “The vacant office stood on the NE site for awhile, until a Brainerd chef purchased it in 1908 and moved it to its present site. He moved it intact (emphasis mine) ...”
But how to get it over the ravine between east and central Brainerd? The fill that Washington street passes over was not completed until 1914, and only a wooden wagon bridge existed (see photo to the right) that clearly could not support the weight of an intact building. The other option is to haul it by rail from the sawmill yard to Sixth street which is quite an endeavor in itself.
But ol' Carl was wrong! See the November 6, 1908, article
from the Brainerd Arena, below, which says they had to "take this
building down":
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The February 5, 1909 article solves a mystery. The present-day kitchen
was, indeed, added to the back of the building. The interior pictures
from the 1920's and 1930's show a divider wall behind the counter, and
it's now clear that the area behind that wall was a "dining room" that
was separate from the "main lunch room".
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Although the building was moved/re-erected in 1908, the business was not operational until C.D. Herbert moved his lunch counter over in February of 1909.
The faded photo to the right shows the interior of the newly operational "N.P. Lunch Room" sometime in the 1910s. The view is to the south, so the counter is along the west side of the room and in the background you can see the stairway starting up along the south wall and then turning at a landing and heading north into the upstairs hallway.
Note that the dark colored counter and the metallic barstools are the same ones that were in the N.P. Lunch Counter picture, above, and in the 1925 Van's Lunch picture, below. The identities of the men in the picture are unknown.
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In 2018 a photo showing the restaurant building around 1913 was shared to the Share History and Stories of Brainerd Lakes Area Faceboook Group. The full photo (the original is only about 3 inches square) shows a young Dolores Hall standing on a dirt 5th Street next to Main Street at the site of her grandparents' former home which was torn down in 1892. The photographer was facing east and in the background is Brainerd's first N.P. Depot, which burned in 1917, and the "new" N.P. Lunch Room restraurant!
This is such a great photo! It clearly shows that the main part of the building is the reconstructed squarish Brainerd Lumber Company office building with the row of four second-story windows and the little fenced in area up on top. Attached at the back is the narrow N.P. Lunch Counter owned by C. D. Herbert from kitty corner across the street which now serves as the kitchen with its own side door entry. So at this point Herbert has been in business at that location for about 4 years.
These recorded property-related transactions show the trail of ownership of lots 15-18 in the southwest corner of block 44, where the cafe is (Note C.D. Herbert dies on Nov 6, 1919 following surgery):
Nov 7, 1888 – Jeremiah J. Howe buys lots 15-18 from Charles F. Kindred Nov 15, 1893 – Widow Mary Howe takes ownership of lots 15-18 Aug 1, 1908 – Mary M. Howe leases to C.D. Herbert south 50 ft. of lots 15-18 for 5 years at $100/year Jan 4, 1912 – C.D. Herbert buys lots 15-18 from Mary Howe Jul 19, 1919 – William Graham buys lots 15-18 from C.D. Herbert Mar 25, 1922 – Peter A. Erickson buys lots 15-18 from William Graham May 2, 1929 – Peter A. Erickson leases to C.C. Van Essen lots 17-18 for 5 years at $75/year Dec 30, 1932 – Clarence C. Van Essen receives warranty deed from Peter A. Erickson, widower, by exercising an option dated May 28, 1931, for the purchase of lots 15-18 for $12,000. Recorded in Book "S" of Miscellaneous Records, p. 476
So - note that although the Van Essen family owned the business from 1925 on, they did not own the land until 1933. Once that ownership was secured, they set about improving the building by adding on the private dining room and bathrooms and expanding the upstairs living quarters.
The Brainerd City Directories provide more details on the ownership of the restaurant. Some directories covered two years and were probably published late in the first year. Information is listed in three sections - by last name (which includes occupation or business and spouse if any), by street, and by business.
The 1910 census shows Clayton D. Herbert and family at 224 Sixth Street, which would be the southeast corner of 6th and Kingwood (now the parking lot north of the Cafe) where Charles Kindred's house was.
The 1920 census shows Will Vogt and family at 601 Main.
The 1930 census shows Clarence Van Essen and family at 601 Main. Some of the info is wrong...
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Around 1922, Clarence and Clare Van Essen moved back to Brainerd from Kenosha, Wisconsin, where Clarence had been managing the local F. W. Woolworth store.
The January 27, 1925, Brainerd Daily Dispatch, on page two (see article at right), says that Mr. and Mrs. C. C. Van Essen, connected with the N. P. Lunch Room for the past three years, will continue to operate it after acquiring it from the DeRocher brothers. (The DeRocher brothers were Tom and Moses. Moses was Clare's step-father. The New Brainerd Cafe was located at 519 Laurel in the New Brainerd Hotel which was part of the Iron Exchange building, built in 1909 on the N.W. corner of 6th and Laurel.)
By 1927, "Van's Lunch Room" had become "Van's Cafe". The Friday April 22, 1927, weekly Brainerd Dispatch had this "Local News Note" for Monday on page two:
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The addition of a new lunch counter and back bar, together with several
minor improvements has added greatly to the appearance of Van's Cafe at Sixth and Main streets. |
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Brainerd's famous landmark all-concrete water tower, one of the first of its kind, was built from 1919-1920 (See the Water Tower Construction Photo Gallery at crowwinghistory.org). Brainerd also upgraded its water mains and fire department equipment.
The photo to the right shows the new equipment being tested once the bowl was filled to normal operating capacity. It was taken around 1927, around the time that Van's Lunch Room became Van's Cafe, although the corner sign stayed up a few more years before being replaced with a Van's Cafe sign (see 1934 photo below).
(Original photo located in Box B7 in the
Crow Wing County Historical Society Research Library.)
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As noted above, the building was moved from northeast Brainerd in 1908. The existing wagon bridge across the ravine at the time could not have supported the entire structure, so it was disassembled and moved in pieces to its destination and then re-erected over the newly-completed foundation.
The photo to the right, taken from the water tower, is the only known
photo that shows the full original exterior and shape of that office building.
It also shows the Standard Oil filling station at the north end of the block
(the Charles F. Kindred homestead, later occupied by the Herbert family
before the Lunch Room upstairs became living quarters).
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How fortunate we are that Clarence and Clare had photos taken of their restaurant over the years. The photo to the right was taken in the 1920s before the moderate remodeling when Van's Lunch became Van's Cafe.
The door in the back goes into the kitchen. The window to the left is just for show - there is no outside view there.
Clare and her mother Florence (wife of Mose DeRocher) are behind the counter. Above Clare you can see a transom for a door that goes into an adjacent room. Behind the counter is an open area high on the wall (with a few signs stuck into it) that shows part of a room on the other side. One of the signs advertises a Sunday Special - Chicken Dinner 65¢
The dark counter and the metallic barstools are the same ones that were in
the original N.P. Lunch Counter, which were moved to the newly-re-erected
building in 1909.
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The photo to the right was taken about 1930 after the remodeling when Van's Lunch became Van's Cafe.
The "for show" window to the left of the kitchen door is now gone and the walls have been redecorated with scenic murals near the ceiling. The counter is now smaller, making room for another row of tables along the opposite wall. The chairs have coverings on the backs.
Clarence and Clare are behind the counter to the right. Their daughter
Gloria is on the lap of a woman in the center of the room.
Signs above the counter advertise Salads and Dinners and Cantaloupe.
Note the new cigar humidor with the very large selection.
Up until now, the Van Essens owned the buildings but were leasing the land. This discouraged them from making any significant improvements. The January 10, 1933 Brainerd Daily Dispatch had this to report:
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VAN ESSEN BUYS QUARTER OF BLOCK MAIN AND SIXTH Consummation of a deal whereby C. C. Van Essen acquires the property in which his cafe is located, together with adjoining property, from P. A. Erickson, was announced today. The sale involved $12,000 it was said. Real estate involved includes the two-story building housing Van's cafe, and two smaller buildings facing on Washington street. Remodeling of the two-story structure is planned by Van Essen to begin the latter part of February. He plans to enlarge the private dining room so as to accommodate larger private parties, install booths and a large glass front together with other improvements. These plans are tentative, Van Essen said. Located as the property is at the convergence of four major highways, which will bring trade together with the business he now enjoys. Van Essen believes that the improved property will not only encourage new business, but will enhance the architectural lines of the city. |
By the end of August, extensive remodeling had been completed. See the 1933 Remodel page.
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The two photos to the right show the first Van's Cafe corner sign with VAN'S / CAFE / TASTY FOOD.
1st photo: Clare Van Essen and her daughter Marcie.
2nd photo: teenager and young girl are Marcie and her sister Gloria;
the dark-haired woman is Clare's sister, Edie DeRocher;
the other woman and young boy are unrelated.
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The photo to the right was taken in the early 1940's after the major "art deco" remodeling as described in this 1941 "Van's Cafe Modernized By $10,000 Project" article. Bill Van Essen, pictured, the son of Clare and Clarence, was a Navy Pilot in WW II home on leave.
The counter was moved from the middle to the west wall, new booths were put in, and the interior décor was completely redone. The ceiling had recessed fluorescent lighting that illuminated a sky-blue arched dome.
New neon signs in the front windows displayed "CHOW MEIN", "FRIED CHICKEN",
"SIZZLING STEAKS", and "BAR B Q RIBS".
The kitchen was added on right at the beginning, but the very back room of the kitchen, next to the infamous delivery chute, was added later. When was that?
The east wall of the original lunch room was where the booths now end. The little alcove room in front was added during the 1941 remodeling (we have family color film of the area to the east of the building from 1940 that shows the alcove is not yet there). But the restrooms and what used to be the private dining room that extended to the back door was added by 1934 as my aunt remembers the upstairs expanding at that time to include a large living room and mini-bar-and-kitchen (where many fond family memories were formed). When exactly was that?
The banquet room and space occupied by Gorham Realty was added in 1958. Need details.
The Midway Grocery was torn down in early 1965. That was probably when the office building was built next to the banquet room.
A loon mounted by Jack Echternacht, DDS, was put on display at the Cafe around 1970. The DNR said "No Dice!" since it was a protected bird. After a public outcry, the resolution was that the DNR took possession of it but it is on permanent loan to the restaurant. Need details...
Include pix of Ford Times magazine 1957 article on Van's and of the original painting that we still have.
