![]() Schussler said he spent $130,000 a year to maintain the Galaxy while it was closed. Its neon lights glowed every night as a quiet homage to the 1950s. Even in the dormant years, the lawn was still cut, trees were trimmed and flowers planted. The place needed little work to get it ready. People ride up on skateboards and bikes, often with a dog in tow.” It’s got retro colors and a vintage vibe. There’s a passion here that I couldn’t give up. “I had seller’s remorse without selling it. “I got sick to my stomach after I put in on the market,” he said. In 2016, Schussler put the restaurant at 3712 S. Awe said the restaurant aims for a standard wait time of 18 minutes or less. The restaurant stumbled in the past, Schussler said, when the food wasn’t up to par and wait times for food exceeded 30 minutes. “People come once for the wow and then come back for the food.” “That’s almost unheard of in the drive-in business,” Schussler said. As many menu items as possible will be made from scratch. “I like to specialize in whimsical, family and pets, and this place screams that,” Schussler said of the Galaxy.īesides 20 drive-up spaces for vehicles, the restaurant has outdoor seats for 90. He also had a chain of nightclubs in the 1980s called Jukebox Saturday Night, including one in downtown Minneapolis. The Golden Valley-based founder of Rainforest Cafe, Schussler has also developed restaurant concepts Yak & Yeti, T-Rex and the Boathouse on Disney properties in Orlando, Fla. “Vanilla, not chocolate, because dogs shouldn’t have chocolate,” Schussler adds. Giant-sized chess and checkers sets occupy patrons at Galaxy while they wait for food.Īnd dogs get free ice-cream cones. The two are overhauling the menu and experimenting with a few decadent temptations, such as a fried banana split sprinkled with moon pies.Īwe’s creativity at Clays, including kids’ meals served on Frisbees, fit perfectly with Schussler’s playful nature. They have a big incentive to make it work.” “They signed a lease, are paying the utilities, and brought their own food people,” Schussler said. Louis Park will reopen in April after being closed for five years. James Awe, executive chef at Clays, will team with Saliterman. I test foods myself and I work with the chef on the menus.” ![]() “I can be very critical of food and service. Louis Park, owner of Clays restaurant in Rockford, Minn., and a commercial real estate developer. “I was looking for the right operator who I could trust and feel good about.”Įnter Mark Saliterman, chairman of VisionBank in St. ![]() “I’ve been getting questions from people almost every day for five years asking, ‘Why don’t you sell it or reopen it?’ ” Schussler said. He purchased the restaurant, formerly known as Wagner’s Drive-In, in 2012 and then closed it in 2015. Owner Steve Schussler posted the notice Wednesday on Facebook and had more than 175 responses in 15 minutes. The seasonal drive-up restaurant, one of only a handful in the Twin Cities, will reopen in mid-April. After five years waiting on the launchpad, Galaxy Drive In in St.
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