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The local music is what draws the crowd many nights and, for Johnson, that is what made the work worthwhile.

“Live music has always been here, which is one of the things that makes this place so special,” he said.

It’s also one of the reasons Scanlon wanted to be a part of the club.

“I like music venues,” he said. “Some people that buy businesses do the food aspect. We’re big into music; it works for us.”

Scanlon, who is from Ireland, has been in the bar business for 24 years.

“I guess you could say I’m chasing that proverbial pot of gold,” he said. “The bar business is a business that kind of gets into your blood.”

The losses, the changes

One of the biggest losses for the club is Rob Rule, the leader of the Saint Paul Music Club (SPMC). The SPMC was a long-time fixture at the venue, promoting new and obscure local acts.

Another loss is that of the Clown Lounge, the basement of the club, decorated entirely in clown paraphernalia and run by Dave Weigardt. The lounge was a prime place for the local avant garde jazz scene, where players gathered every Monday night.

“The Saint Paul Music Club and the Clown Lounge are what made the Turf Club what it is today, or was,” said Kipp Manske, manager of ITS at Hamline.

The Clown Lounge began when Weigardt approached a previous Turf Club owner and asked if he could open a second bar in the basement storeroom, Manske said. “The wonderful thing about the Clown
Lounge was that it was all Dave,” he said. “He ran the whole show down there. In the early days, before the jazz era, the Clown Lounge would have these cabaret shows that were wonderful.”

Though it will not return as the Clown Lounge (partly because Weigardt took his clown decorations with him) Scanlon hopes to reopen the lounge as a getaway for customers seeking quieter quarters. In order to do this, he said, he has to apply for a city zoning permit. He anticipates reopening it soon.

Scanlon said that not much else will change with the club. Some structural work will be done, and the venue will be restored to the ’40s-era bar, but the goal is that it will remain the club that fans know and love.

“I think we’ll have all the same customers and maybe add some to it,” Scanlon said. He said he doubts that many will even notice the changes.

He also said he doesn’t intend to be visible at the club.

“I won’t be running the sound board,” he said. “Most of those who see me won’t even know me. The bar will be run exactly as it is now.”

The end of an era (mostly)

One employee customers will still recognize, or course, is Ricker, who has now worked at the club for 18
years. He started as a bartender, as Johnson did, after answering an ad in the dailies, he said, when he was a student at the University of Minnesota. He now books bands to play at the club, which he started doing once Johnson took over in 1994.

Ricker has stayed on and will continue working that the club because he enjoys the work and the stability.

“I’ve got a little bit emotionally invested in the bar,” he said. “And I have a young son now, so stability is important in my life.”

Though he’s been there for years, Ricker said he looks forward to what’s to come for the club.

“I don’t know that I’ll miss much of anything,” he said. “This is my third owner now. I’ve always had fun here, it’s a fun place to work at. It’s got a really great vibe.”

The vibe and atmosphere is what first hooked Kipp Manske. The cheap shows, cheap beer, and good people made the Turf Club what it was, he said.

“I like the Turf because of the layout, the atmosphere, the Clown Lounge č being able to get away from the
music, if you like č and the mix of people,” Manske said.

He hopes the club will maintain its willingness to give new bands a chance, he said, and he looks forward to the upgrades that come with the new ownership.

“Hopefully the Turf won’t change too much. It could use some upgrading and upkeep č but it won’t be the same without Rob, Dave, the SPMC, and the Clown Lounge,” he said.”

Manske will continue going to the Turf Club (especially if there is a band he wants to see, he said) and he’s eager to see where the regulars end up and how it changes the club.

But with the loss of Rule, Weigardt, and Johnson, an era is ending for the Turf, he said.

“The sad part is that they, and others, put a lot of work and heart into making the Turf Club what it is č one of the best live music venues and places to hang in town,” Manske said. “It truly was a grassroots effort.”
Still, he added, the club will carry on, as it always has.

“I expect a more professional atmosphere, and higher prices. The Turf was truly a do-it-yourself club that was run by the staff and felt like home to many.”