Lee's Liquor Lounge 1957 T-Shirt

Lee Triemert opened Lee's Liquor Lounge in Minneapolis in the late '50s, and ran it with his wife until he passed away in '76. Lou Sirian bought the bar in '77, but continued to call it Lee's, because Lou is the kind of guy who likes to keep things the way they are. That model seemed to work for Lou, as Lee's remained a mainstay of the city’s historically working-class North Loop neighborhood for decades. Housed in a 125-year-old former warehouse, Lee's was the go-to watering hole for blue collar employees for generations, but as the factories left, so did many of the customers. Lou brought in live music in the mid '80s, and this is when Lee's got its second wind as a music venue, with sort of a honky tonk dive bar vibe.