Dinner Break! Joe Senser's Sports Bar - Roseville, MN

Former Minnesota Vikings Tight End, Joe Senser, opened several Sports Bars around the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area, back in the late 1980's. That's cool, but a little too footbally for my tastes. I avoid football as I simply don't like the game, but I absolutely abhor the marketing and In-Your-Face-ness the athletes and fans adopt on such a showboatingly obnoxious scale. But that's an argument for another time.

This is about a former NFL player opening a few sports bars, operating them successfully for a few decades, before Covid wiped them completely out of business. Just as it did to so many other restaurants over the last couple of years.

If you remember back to early August of this year, I posted my story on the Anoka, MN, Hardees. Which was abruptly closed and demolished just over two months later. (No, Joe Senser didn't build a new Sports Bar on that land...) One of the days I was taking photos of the demolition, I saw this guy walking around the property, snapping his own pictures of the Anoka Hardees demolition.

I speculated that he was my competition. Running a competing abandoned building/sports card collecting website. One that specialized in covering only Football cards, for his blog: "Touchdowns and Teardowns". Through his urging, I began to see that I could be alienating a portion of my abandoned building loving audience, by shutting football out.

None of this is true...

But that's not going to stop me from making stuff up!

So the khaki dressed Anoka Hardees guy, is now known as General WhoopAss.

During our negotiations to allow me to publish my Hardees story first, he offered up a set of photographs of Joe Senser's Sports Bar in Roseville, MN, taken March 7, 2021. Not knowing me, he rather enthusiastically agreed to my treaty offering. Pretty sure he thought I was this guy...

1990 Pro Set - Aaron Wallace

Yeah.. My old job...

General WhoopAss didn't throw any of Joe Senser's football cards in the deal. And I certainly don't own any football cards that aren't mine. So I went back to the monthly Valley West Mall Card Show, on the lookout for any and all Senser's. Most vendors offered clueless looks in return. And/or takes on his recent stroke or his wife serving time in prison from a felony vehicular homicide case from a few years back.

But no one had any Joe Senser cards with them. Which really surprised me, given the sheer volume of Vikings collectors on site.

So I had to resort to the ebays. Joe Senser had Topps football cards in 1981, 1982 and 1983. Individually, they were selling for between $1-$3 per card. That's just outrageous! Must be ex-employees trying to recoup lost wages by selling his cards...

Luckily, I found this:

Well, I definitely don't need 18 Joe Senser cards. Especially when only 4 of them are needed to finish this story. But I couldn't buy the 4 individual cards shipped, for less than 18 of them. So now I have a big bunch of Joe Senser cards, and no idea what to do with them. 

Perhaps I'll go back to the Valley West Mall Card Show, and give them to the dealers there. Just in case General WhoopAss wants to write his own Joe Senser story someday?

Look for it!

During my "minimal research" phase of preparing this story, I found this house-produced video of Joe Senser's Roseville Sports Bar, from December 2016. Only 1:07 long, and consisting of a series of instrumental video clips showing the entire restaurant. Back in the days of the old red paint and logo.

Glad I found this (and other), it adds a lot of perspective to the pictures that I took.

I mean, that General WhoopAss took.

Joe Senser's Roseville restaurant closed in March 2020, when all restaurants closed due to Covid. This closure was announced as permanent in October, 2020. His other active location, in Bloomington MN, closed in March 2020 as well, with a permanent closure coming in December 2020. Joe Senser's Bloomington Sports Bar was demolished in 2021. 

Senser previously operated restaurants in Eagan, MN (closed in November 2011), and Plymouth, MN (closed in March 2012). But I know very little about those and didn't bother digging any deeper in my research.

Despite the sports bar closing a year before the photos were taken, there was still some Senser pieces all around the property. Just outside the front door was a few brochures hanging up inside a display case. This isn't very easy to read...

ENHANCE!!!

Fascinating!

1981 Topps - Joe Senser

Joe Senser's Minnespta Vikings career spanned years that even pre-dated the HHH Metrodome. Since Senser played the 1980 and 1981 at the old Metropolitan Stadium (also in Bloomington, MN). Which makes him a lot cooler than the Vikings players and teams I remember hearing way too much about in the 1980's and 1990's.

During my half-assed research phase, I watched entirely too much of an old Monday Night Football game. Played between the Vikings and the Oakland Raiders, from September 1981, on YouTube. Just to see glimpses of Met Stadium's old football set up. 

Then I realized I wasted a good hour plus of quality writing time, by watching a 40 year old football game.

Have I ever mentioned that I don't even like football?

My Met Stadium seats were in attendance, watching Joe Senser play that night!

If someone's ass wasn't blocking their view...

Joe Senser's Sports Bar's 2020 more subdued grey color scheme, opposed to the lighter red and white you saw in the video. (Must have been going through it's goth phase...) Photo taken as you enter the parking lot from the Roseville I-35W frontage road. 

I never patronized Senser's, but was always aware of it's presence on the scene, dating back to the late 1980's. He used his restaurant as a host for a lot of live sports programming on local radio. Combined with the former Viking clout, ability to draw name players from the Vikings, Twins and North Stars in for appearances.

Seeing the actual building that I'd heard about for years was a minor let down. While it was a nice looking building, I expected something larger and grander than this. Maybe like a scaled down model of the HHH Metrodome? 

I don't know what I was thinking...

WCCO ad - Twins Magazine, June 1992

Thursday nights (if I'm remembering correctly) was Sports Night at Senser's. WCCO Radio would broadcast live from the bar, with local professional athletes as guests. This would be pre-empted if there was a live game, but you'd still hear spots promoting Sports Night at Joe Senser's during nearly all of WCCO's programming.

This seemingly wasn't a thing when I moved back to Minnesota. I didn't hear any radio spots for Joe Senser's, like I did during early 1990's Twins games. 

Kinda missed them...

Here's the main entrance to Senser's.

Before looking any further at that, let's shuffle over to the left and check out the patio on the west side of the restaurant.

Next to the patio, a sand volleyball court had been set up. Because what goes with sports bar food and drink? Beach volleyball in Minnesota! (Although, they probably didn't play as long as snow stayed on the court. Which you can see in this picture.)

Outdoor seating area of Senser's, overlooking all sorts of beach volleyball, without the body of water. Just above that pole ashtray is a no smoking sign. As a (now former) smoker (again), mixed messages like this always irritated me. If I'm not allowed to smoke here, don't place a butt recepticle here. 

Just a couple of weeks shy of Senser's being closed for an entire year, the dry erase board on the patio still lists the Happy Hour specials. No one came up to smear it or vandalize it! Had I the time or supplies, I could've had some fun with this!

If you notice, all of the prices end in $.81. That's because Joe Senser wore jersey number 81, with the Vikings. So that's kind of a cool nod to his playing career.

1990 Score - Aaron Wallace

Aaron Wallace, on the other hand, wore jersey number 23 in college. And number 51 with the Los Angeles Raiders.

As far as I know, Aaron Wallace never opened a Sports Bar.

Neither did I.

And as of March 16, 2020, Joe Senser no longer did either.

Looking inside the pull down doors on the patio, from left to right.

The old Senser's logo on the wall.

Assuming this was a private room for groups to reserve, but I don't know this to be true.

Hmmm... General WhoopAss kinda resembles Captain Honkass... 

Must just be a reflection trick from across the room.

Opposite side of the Senser patio, with netted-in volleyball court in front.

1982 Topps - Joe Senser

Senser's second year Topps card. I like this design better than 1982 Topps Baseball. Although the helmet wouldn't translate, it kind of reminds me of 1981 Topps Baseball. But that helmet is a massive upgrade from the generic cartoon caps used on 1981 Topps Baseball.

1981 Topps Pete Mackanin

Card backs are very typical Topps of that era.

Reflection interference on the front door of Senser's. Odd that the restaurant GM has such prominent billing. Given what the front door is indicating, in the world of Minneapolis are Sports Bars, is Tom Horwath that much more important than Joe Senser? 

Perhaps we'll never know...

Unfortunately the audio on this clip is very quiet. Which is too bad as it's interesting on multiple fronts. This is from a 2005 episode of ESPN2's old morning show, Cold Pizza. This was part of an ongoing series where they were searching for the best Sports Bars in America.

I remember occasionally watching Cold Pizza (which ran from 2003-2007), but not really liking the show. Airing in the mornings when I came home from work, it covered the previous night's sports news just fine, but it had the same issues that all ESPN programming had (and continues to have). The "personalities" hosting the shows were of that obnoxiously over the top variety that ESPN is known for. A little bit of that goes a long way.

However, it's interesting to see them cover Joe Senser's in Roseville, MN.

Especially now that it's 17 years ago...

Various Joe Senser pamphlets still hanging in a display case.

The one in the bottom right corner was featured earlier in this story. 

The other display case next to the front doors had a miniature copy of Senser's menu. Again, being a year after they closed, and nearly 6 months after the liquidation auction of restaurant fixtures, the fact this menu is still hanging up is pretty surprising. Not the best quality, but using this picture, I can display most of Senser's menu. At least the point when the restaurant closed. 

I'll show those while looking into the uncovered windows, going left to right across the front of the closed up Sports Bar. Showing the main dining and drinking area, also the largest open part of Senser's restaurant.

Starting at the front entrance...

(Wow! That General WhoopAss guy sure does look a lot like me!)

That menu cover sure is colorful...

Not sure how that design fits any of the marketing presentations Senser's had previously used.

Peering inside the first dingy window, directly to the right of the front entrance. The tabletops have been taken off the booths, with (I'm assuming) the bar behind them.

Menu - Appetizers

Some of the prices on Appetizers have been raised from 81 cents to 95 cents. Pre-Covid inflation? Good to know the Bacon Lollipops were still seeing the Senser discount!

Inside the next uncovered window, with Joe's Rec Room directly across. 

Menu - Lunch

Your standard Soup and Whatever combos. Also not 81 cents...

Would have liked a better photo of the Minnesota NHL and NBA franchises, at the bottom.

Looking into the last window before rounding the corner. All of the tables and chairs are gone. Presumably removed during the October 2020 Liquidation Auction. Revealing more of the ugly carpet underneath.

Menu - Sandwiches

Joe, why would you cover Sandwiches with Lunch? I'm intrigued by the Crunchy Buffalo, but I can't learn about it thanks to Lunch. What if I wanted a Crunchy Buffalo for Lunch?

Rounding that previously mentioned corner, then looking back at what I just looked at.

There wasn't a whole lot of booth seating at Senser's. 

Menu - Burgers

Fine selection of burgers that you're pretty much expect from a sports bar. A little bit pricey for it's time, but not outrageous given what the market bears these days...

The outrageous would be left to this "off the menu" burger, that was promoted on YouTube, but not the menu. 

Posted on February 10, 2011, this 30 second instrumental clip of still images, features a 2.5 pound bacon cheeseburger, fries and whatever. That you order with a wink and eat as a challenge. Now I like a good burger as much as anyone, but this video is kind of nauseating to watch. 

Could you imagine wringing that Beast Burger out over the plate, and watching all of the grease pour out of it?

Yeah... Just no...

Apparently the liquidation auction could not place this lonely bucket of Miller Lite (without the Miller Lite inside) in a worthy home. Nor the washcloth/shirt/whatever left out there on the floor.

Menu - Pizza

Senser's pies are 12 or 16 inches! Hand formed and fired at 700 degrees!

You've been warned!

Would have liked a better image of the 7 MN Golden Gopher logos at the bottom of this page. I've always hated the current "tough guy" gopher in the M sweater. I'd like to see more of that earlier, less roid-ragey logos the U of M used to incorporate.

The last view inside Senser's dining area. Markings on the floor by the bar-tition indicate missing tables. The bright spot in the middle of the picture would be the sun's relfection, coming off the paio windows, overlooking the beach volleyball court with no beach. Just to give you some perspective on the building.

And I'm still trying to figure out what that red square stuffed up in the rafters is...

Menu - Specialties

You can keep the mushrooms, but that bacon-wrapped meatloaf sounds pretty good.

Aaron Wallace thinks so too...

1991 Action Packed - Aaron Wallace

Those old 3D Action Packed cards sure do scan crappy...

Of course if none of Joe Senser's food options sound appealing, you could always just go to Perkins...

Where, according to the Perkins advertisement in the June 1992 edition of Twins Magazine, you could enjoy a tasty pita pocket, served inside a dirty old leather catcher's mitt!

June 1992... Back when Aaron Wallace was working for the Los Angeles Raiders...

And Aaron Wallace was working at Brooklyn Park Perkins!

Uh-oh! An errant pass coming out of the kitchen area has broken out a window!

Senser musta botched catching that one!

The unboarded up window next to it, looks into room with a rather pathetic looking exit/safety light, on a sagging shelf. Glimpses of Senser's cooler/freezers can be seen outside the room. On the right side, woman's room door. A sign on it says you can't smoke here either. 

Just like outside on the patio!

Wonder if you can pee out there?

Another window about 15 feet away from the last one. Guessing this was the Joe Senser's Head Coach's office. With a spilled over never-ending pasta bowl of extension cords and computer wires on top of the counter.

One last nugget from the Joe Senser menu...

I never knew this about the Twins name before. Seems rather strange, but I almost like Twin Cities Twins better. Explains why the TC logo was initially used over an M. And Twins Cities would have looked interesting on a jersey, opposed to Minnesota...

But what do I know?

1991 Pacific - Aaron Wallace

Not like I'm some sort of super football playing guy or something.

Let's play a fun new game...

What is that thing I just found in Joe Senser's Parking Lot?

Broken sunglasses!

A room key for the dirtball Motel 6 next door!

A No Trespassing sign that's clearly being ignored by me!

I mean, ignored by General WhoopAss!

And some turds!

1982 Topps - Joe Senser - In Action

Here's our future restauranteur Joe Senser, caught IN ACTION, committing all sorts of acts of footballery!

Looks to me like that second sentence is missing the word "the". Should be a the between during and campaign. To be fair, there's a few places you could add a the. Maybe at the very beginning? "THE Joe was named to the NFC's Pro Bowl Squad last season." How about before the last word? "Joe led Viking receivers in yardage and THE touchdowns." Kinda like that...

Joe THE Senser?

When General WhoopAss gave me the Joe Senser's Sports Bar photos from March 2021, I figured the first thing I should do is an update to the story. Meaning that I would have to drive out to Roseville, to check and see what's going on at the old Joe Senser's Sports Bar. And if you're me (and I bet you're thankful that you're not) any trek to Roseville is done the slow way, driving south down Silver Lake Road in Mounds View, on the way to Roseville.

After all, I need to know things like this...

Taco Johns has closed this location since I was last in this part of town.

Of course the reason I always drive this way is to bring back the warm fuzzies for the long gone Apache Plaza. Which now includes the equally gone WalMarts. Built on Apache Plaza's grave in 2005, and demolished in early 2021. I wrote a fairly popular story about that as soon as I found out it was torn down.

But the WalMart sign is still standing at the edge of Silver Lake Road. And that poor cover up job isn't fooling anyone... WalMarts pulled some shitty politics and closed this store in 2015, in favor of a brand new and much larger store in Roseville (of all places). Leaving a big empty retail shell to remind citizens of St. Anthony, just how badly the evil corporate giant screwed over the town. 

Today, the Not WalMart Apartments are springing up from the Earth that once held pure evil (and low prices). The barricaded road used to pass directly in front of WalMarts main doors. About half of their parking lot remains in front of these new apartments.

But I still wish it was 30 years ago. When Aaron Wallace could go inside Apache Plaza to buy...

1991 Upper Deck cards of Aaron Wallace, at...

I so miss this place...

Also wanted to drive through this part of town to see if anything new was going on a few blocks to the west. Another property I have an eye on for possible future redevelopment.

This used to the home of St. Anthony BP. An abandoned gas station attached to it's own set of abandoned in-line retail. I took this picture on September 11, 2022. Other than some more weeds poking through the pavement, it doesn't look much different that it did on...

June 30, 2018! 

Over four years earlier and still nothing has been done with the site. I've driven across the un-barricaded parking lot a few times since 2018, but I never stopped to look around until Patriots Day 2022. (I hereby resolve to never use that term again.)

But now I'm extra curious!

What would the United States Marshal care about the St. Anthony BP? Their No Trespassing stickers were stuck to each door of the shopping center. I looked through all of the windows, hoping to see a chalk outline or something, but nothing. As exciting as this sticker implies, there wasn't anything overly interesting here...

Almost makes me think that's NOT a legit US Marshal logo...

Yup, the St. Anthony BP looks pretty much like every convenience store ever. Do like that they put so much effort into their aisle directory. It's not labeled, but if you look really close, there's a toilet in the back!

Moving on...

A few blocks away, there's this nicely deteriorating abandoned retail store. Years back, it was a thrift store. I don't think it was a Savers, yet that kinda seems right. I remember wandering around inside it about 20 years ago with some friends. I don't think we bought anything... Either way, it's been abandoned for many years now.

Since that sign out front had all of the contact info removed, I'm thinking no one's been able to lease that building. I'm sure there's been hundreds of businesses over the last 18 months, that have always wanted to sell crap out of here, but there's just no way to contact anybody in charge of the building. 

Here it was on February 27, 2021, the last time I was through here for pictures. This picture has the phone number you can call to lease this space! Hopefully, a few interested perspective buyers will read this story, and see this property finally has a phone number to contact the lease-er. They should've just called up the St. Anthony abandoned retail department. Demand to be allowed to lease that building. They want to open up the new idea that will revolutionize south St. Anthony, but they can't because there's no phone number. Maybe someone like a former athlete was interested in using this space to open a brand new Sports Bar?

Maybe someone like Aaron Wallace?

1993 Score - Aaron Wallace

Probably not Aaron Wallace.

I simply don't have the credit...

Or desire...

 

On March 22, 2018, WCCO's 10pm News show ran the following fluff piece: Viewers’ Choice For Best Sports Bar In Minnesota. Which coincidentally was Joe Senser's in Roseville! This is a pretty good video, showing the bar as it was then, and what they featured. There's a good amount of Joe Senser biography (including some footage of Senser footballing at Metropolitan Stadium!), leading up to his near deadly stroke in 2016, and ongoing recovery.

But on September 11, 2022, it was time to see what the Roseville Senser's looked like. Quick check on the Google still listed the former Sports Bar as vacant, so my expectations were what I saw two March's ago. Hopefully with some more advanced Urban Decay!

Approaching from the I-35W frontage road, the building is looking much the same. I can still see the beach volleyball court, minus the beach. The lawn is freshly mowed and the building looks to be in good shape. At least from this angle. I'm also assuming that blue sign on the lower right corner of the photo is from the real estate company trying to sell/lease the building?

Nope! The former Joe Senser's Sports Grill is known today as Community Medical Services. From restaurant to health clinic. Not what I expected in coming here today.

Looking at the previous picture, the beach volleyball court without the beach is still intact. I now picture an afternoon game between the doctors against the nurses taking place on a regular basis. And they have to chug a beer on every missed serve.

With the building now having an active use and purpose, I didn't give it the usual run around for property and window pictures. Taking those pictures of an open business doesn't seem right, so I don't typically do that. I'd like to see what the new interior set-up is, but nope... 

It's no longer abandoned, so I no longer care...

March 7, 2021.

September 11, 2022.

With plenty of Ver Low Parking on site!

Courtesy of a parking lot that doesn't appear to get much Overflow these days.

Because no one is coming here to see...

1983 Topps - Joe Senser

Wow... 1983 Topps Football is really dull looking compared to 1981 or 1982.

The card back is better than the front...

So that's my (and General WhoopAss's) story of Joe Senser's Sports Bar.

Last call for alcohol, please tip your servers and drive safely on your way home. 

Before I go do something else, here's another montage of Joe Senser's Sports Bar video clips, set to generic instrumental music. This one from 2017.

Too bad they're closed, some of that food looks pretty good!

Guess I'll have to hit up the Blaine Denny's instead... 

It'll give me a chance to figure out what exactly is tagged on the Denny's Dumpster Hut.

Bappy?

Dappy?

North Pappy Flappy?