Anoka Burger King, Anoka Cinema and New Twins Cards From the ebays
Which is all great and stuff, but I still have to have a 299th story, before the 300th surfaces. So as not to take away from the greatness of the next story, I needed to come up with something quick and simple, to keep the pace. After eliminating several local vacant locations, I decided that I was going to simply show off my recent ebay purchases, hinted at in my last story: 2025 Bowman Mega Box - The Two Box Review.
Then the envelopes started coming in...
Then inspiration came unexpectedly...
Pretty snazzy graphic, huh?
As I as setting up to write about new cards arriving from the ebays, an email notification of a new comment came through. Someone who chose to remain anonymous, commented on that 2025 Bowman story from a few weeks ago...
My immediate reply dismissed his request so quickly that I misspelled that. I didn't catch it until after, because my phone has long given up on spell checking me. Its own inner-dictionary admitted defeat and accepted that "tgat" is an actual English word. Years of lazy dragging fingers have probably misspelled it more often than done it correctly.
My 7 and a half year old phone is absolutely not on the A1...
Despite not having any of my own material, and only one distinct memory of the place, I started to think about it as a story. Like I said, not nearly enough material for a proper story. However, the little I did have could serve as a side dish to a story that I already wasn't very excited about...
Well, that would be my planned new ebay Whatever!
Which is just a mandatory step on the way to the 300 milestone.
Anoka Burger King closed in 1999.
That was the only official information I could find about it, during a sort-of exhaustive Googles search. I don't know when it was built or opened, but that looks like the standard Burger King architecture from the early to mid 1970's. Which are fairly small in comparison to the models from the late 1970's and early 1980's. This building is of the pre-atrium model, which became a BK standard during the Reagan years.
Burger King went full on Saved By The Bell in the early 1990's, as you can see in the Coon Rapids Springbrook location. That place has been demolished too. It's now a car wash..
I was incorrect in my reply to Anonymous. I actually have 4 pictures of the old Anoka Burger King, not 3, as I wrote. However, none of these pictures are mine. I don't remember which site I found them on, or who was responsible for taking them. This was at least 15 years ago when I found and immediately downloaded them. Saved because they were cool, even if I had no immediate use for them.
Searching the Googles as I was writing this story, didn't bring any results of where they're from. So they've been unavailable online for a while. Until now, when I'm resurrecting them. Out of love!
Also have no idea when the building was demolished. I was living in Colorado when it closed, wasn't aware of it in 2003-2005 when I was living here, and was back in Colorado from 2005-2018. When I moved back to Minnesota, the old Anoka Burger building was a US Bank. Googlesmobile drive bys over the years show that it was already gone by May 2009. Along with the other old buildings neighboring it. Remember a gas station on the corner of Main and Ferry, but nothing specific. Googles just shows parking lots and vague outlines of removed foundations.
That gas station is now a Caribou Coffee. Which I have pictures of, but didn't want to include because it's Caribou Coffee... US Bank had their new building up and open by July 2011. Because it's a US Bank, I've never bothered to take a picture of it. I don't even feel it's worth it to go to the Googles for one now.
You know what a US Bank looks like, that is this.
Let's talk about the recent ebays Whatever...
Whatevers tend to be middle heavy, with an abundance of cards sandwiched between the thinner top and bottom. There isn't a whole lot of difference between the middle 60%. The top and the bottom are pretty easy. But the middle is usually pretty similar. This particular one is so top heavy, I could easily declare number 1, and a 14 way tie for second place. That's what happens when you eliminate chance from card buying!
The Top 15 Cards Recently Purchased From The ebays!
Starting off with number 15!
#15 - 2025 Bowman Chrome - Khadim Diaw - Reptilian
Well, this one is kind of an easy choice for last place (when compared to the others) given the rather lame Reptilian Refractor gimmick. These are the most common of all the thousands of 2025 Bowman Chrome Refractor parallels. This was a dollar. Not spending much time here, there's likely better Diaw's to come...
#14 - 2025 Bowman Chrome - Walker Jenkins - VIP
Strange choice of design here. First thing that comes to mind being Walker Jenkins is emerging from a coffin. Rising from the dead to take a lead off first base. Fanatics must have Photoshopped the decay off his pristine uniform that he's not even wearing. Looks too clean for a recent reanimation event, especially that weird looking TC helmet paint job. Not the cleanest transition from the Mighty Mussels...
#13 - 2025 Bowman Chrome Mega Box - Kyle DeBarge - Purple
The only parallel inside my two 2025 Bowman Mega Boxes that I already talked about, was a Jhonkensy Noel Aqua Refractor. In order to feel better about that, I needed a Mega Box parallel that fit my collection better than an overly strikeout prone, homer happy, Cleveland Guardian.
DeBarge was the Twins 2024 compensation draft pick for Sonny Gray signing with the St. Louis Cardinals. Currently ranked as the Twins #12 prospect, DeBarge is posting some impressive numbers, with High A Cedar Rapids. Through 67 games, DeBarge has a .246/.371/.409 slash, with 6 home runs and an eye opening 42 stolen bases.
#12 - 2024 Bowman Chrome - Walker Jenkins - Rising Inferno
Hey, it's Jenkins again! This time he's appearing in the 7th ring of Hell. As I'm writing this, I learned that Jenkins hit his first AA home run Saturday, for the Wichita Wind Surge. He's heating up (as all of the digitally drawn fire would attest) after an injury slowed start to the 2025 season. It's not much of a stretch to think he'll be in AAA St, Paul, by the end of the 2025 season. Possible debut with the 2026 Minnesota Twins is still on the table.
#11 - 2025 Bowman Chrome - Khadim Diaw - Fuchsia Wave
Hey, it's Diaw again! I didn't notice until after I finalized the purchase, that this Diaw's serial number is 001/199. That's cool, but I was buying it regardless... His 2025 season is still going strong with a .302/.455/.431 slash at High A Cedar Rapids. I'm very interested to see where Diaw will place when the Twins Top 30 Prospect list is updated next month. I'm thinking he'll move up someplace between 15 and 20. Coming with a likely promotion up the player development ladder.
Sure beats working the drive thru...
Whomever took these photos likely did closer to its demolition than closure. Even with the oversaturation in the picture, you can see that plywood covering the Drive Thru window is quite a few years weathered.
Anoka's Burger King pre-dates the Coon Rapids locations. Northdale by the high school, and on the Boulevard, by the Family Center Mall. Both of which went up in 1983 or 84, I think. Not sure if the first Northtown store (northwest of the mall) opened before Anoka. As far I knew, this was the closest Burger King to our house, when I was about 6 or 7. However, our family was in the Northtown area far more often than the outskirts of downtown Anoka, so an appearance here was rare.
After it closed in 1999, Anoka has since been Burger Kingless. Coon Rapids lost both stores on Coon Rapids Blvd., plus another one directly south of Northtown, that opened in 1992. The Northdale location is still open today, unless the gullible employees smash out all of the windows again.
Funny to think how many Burger King's there used to be in the immediate Anoka, Coon Rapids, Blaine triangle, back in 1990...
Back when the base cards were simple and looked like this...
1990 Topps - Larry Walker
For 2025, the Silver Pack promotion is the 35th Anniversary of 1990 Topps. I was interested to see how the "love it or hate it" design of 1990 Topps, would look once Silver Packified.
#10 - 2025 Topps Silver Pack - Larry Walker
Annoyance by the slight changes in fonts aside, I think they did a pretty good job with their salute. Scoring extra points with me for showing the Expos 1992 rebranding, which I favored to their previous look. And I know I'm in the minority on that take... This being a Spring Training (probably from 1992) shot, as the jerseys didn't grow player names across the back, until the regular season started.
#9 - 2025 Topps Silver Pack - Vladimir Guerrero
You can't collect Expos cards and not buy this for a dollar.
And I'm not even trying to make a Robocop reference.
#8 - 2025 Topps Chrome Black - David Festa - Blue
Topps changed the Chrome Black line this year, actually giving it a little more value. In previous years, you were paying between $150-$200, for a box with 4 cards in it. One of them would be an encased autographed card. But if you didn't hit a desired name, you'd be looking at around $25 worth of cards for your investment. In 2025, you're paying between $250-$300 (or more, depending on how gougey that seller is playing) to get 13 cards. The same encased autograph, plus two 6 card packs. Up from the one 3 card pack, for one hundred less dollars. Still a price and ripping experience that I will never partake in.
But I'll buy the singles!
David Festa is one half of the Twins two-headed top pitching prospect. He's looked both very good and very bad over the last two seasons, trying to patch injury holes in the major league rotation. At times, he's looked like he could dominate. At times, he needs to be back in St. Paul. With the current state of our major league roster, and the record they've "achieved", it's time to keep Festa (and the next guy) in the rotation, to see what he can do.
#7 - 2025 Topps Chrome Black - Zebby Matthews - Blue
At this point I consider Festa and Zebby to be the same guy. Again, moments of dominance mixed in with moments of being dominated. Going to take some impressive pitching for me to stop remembering his disastrous start against the Toronto Blue Jays in August of last year. Laura and I went to that game. When all was said and done, Zebby pitched 2 innings and gave up 9 runs. I wrote about it in a story last winter.
Zebby's shown impeccable control throughout his minor league career. At the highest level, it's been a bit spotty so far. Which is to be expected. Also, throwing in the high 90's helps. Matthews, just like Festa, needs to figure out consistency. His first start of the 2025 saw him strike out the side on 10 pitches. Then he fell apart and didn't make it out of the 4th inning. He's currently on the injured list, and is scheduled back after the All Star Break. I'm anxious to see what he can do, if healthy.
Back to my argument about Topps Chrome Black, and its price point, I grabbed the Zebby Festa pair of Blue Refractor parallels (serial numbered out of 150), for under $13 total. Imagine how disappointed you'd be if these were some of the biggest hits you got for $300.
And your encased autograph was Gordon Graceffo.
#6 - 2025 Bowman Chrome - Payton Eeles - Refractor Auto
I bought this card for two reasons.
a) I wanted a Payton Eeles autograph.
b) This is a pretty egregious example of poor Topps quality control. With the prices Fanatics charges for product, how does this bad of a mis-cut make it out of the pressroom? I can understand this slipping into the mass produced base cards, because no one really cares. But when it comes to the higher quality stuff like this, you'd want better. This had to have passed through many hands, including Payton himself, before finding the wrapper. Not too mention all of the other players featured on cards printed on this sheet.
Looking at where the card is intended to trim make me think they're using less than an 1/8" of bleed. You wouldn't want to dead-cut a printed sheet like this, just from a consistency standpoint. As stupid as it seems, this card changed my thinking on how Topps did their sheet layouts. I would think a 1/4" gutter would work best for the cutters. Unless they believe they can safely go shorter, to fit an extra row of cards on each sheet... That would save you money. Though you could lose it through imperfect product.
I thought about this $8 card for far too long. As once again, my job starts interfering with my hobbies...
Eeles (currently ranked as the 22nd prospect in the Twins system) was signed in 2024 as an undrafted amateur free agent, after several post-college years of independent league baseball. In 2024, across Low A, High A and AAA, Eeles put up a .306/.435/.497 slash. He's battled injuries in 2025, and missed a good chunk of the season. In 36 games with those same 3 teams he played for in 2024, his line is .282/.377/.323. There's not a lot of room for middle infielders on the Twins roster, so his hitting is going to have to improve greatly to make any impact.
Depth piece for a deadline trade?
Segue?
Burger King doesn't serve Eel.
An abandoned Burger King definitely doesn't serve Eel.
Not even from the drive thru...
From this sadly low resolution picture, you can see the Walgreens across Main Street, between the legs of the old Burger King sign. Just in case the Burger King is particularly fast acting, you can shoot right over to the Walgreens for some Pepto. Hopefully cross traffic isn't too bad for the left turn.
When I was no more than 6 or 7, one of the neighbors had a birfday party that started at the Anoka Burger King. As I mentioned earlier, back around 1981-82, this was the closest Burger King to where I grew up. I remember all of the kids got to choose a burger and fries, with cake afterwards. We all ate in the back corner of the dining area, closest to the restrooms and kitchen entrance. I had a Whopper Jr. that day. Which I'm pretty sure is the only time I've ever ate a Whopper Jr. in my life.
Hmmm... You know what muscle was key to key to my chewing of that Whopper Jr. from Anoka Burger King?
That would be my JAW!
#5 - 2025 Bowman Chrome - Khadim Diaw - Purple RayWave
The Twins catching prospect currently top on my radar's name is pronounced: "Ha-DEEM Jaw".
Now if that wasn't an award winning segue, my critics just don't get it! Since I'm not sure what an actual Ray Wave is, I'll have to take Topps word that it looks like this. To be fair, it does look nice on a card.
Based on numbers alone, Khadim has clearly earned a promotion to AA Wichita. But the catching position with the Wind Surge is manned by Twins #16 prospect, Ricardo Olivar. His 2025 numbers (.259/.343/.405) are a notch below Diaw, but Olivar should still move up to AAA St. Paul soon. Given the state of the Saints catching corps, they need some new talent. Former Dodgers top prospect Diego Cartaya's line of .085/.217/.136, is more like a punchline. It's only 20 games, due to injuries, but his place as the Twins #23 prospect will definitely drop. Prospect promotions likely wont happen until the organization does a slight re-shuffle after the 2025 MLB Draft, in mid-July.
Nevertheless, it's nearly a given that Khadim Diaw will be in AA with the Wind Surge, before long.
#4 - 2025 Bowman Chrome - Cory Lewis - Blue X-Fractor Auto
Lewis, the Twins 9th Round Pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, is ranked as their number 11 prospect. He's not having a very good 2025 season with the St. Paul Saints, but is a pitcher I'm very interested in. He only averages around 90mph on his fastball, but he has a good curveball and slider. Typically, not a promising combination for a major league starting pitcher, but there's something about Lewis that bares watching... He throws a knuckleball in the low 80's, with a ton of movement.
He's only 24, so there's plenty of time for him to learn. Knuckleball pitchers tend to develop later because the pitch is so hard to throw with any accuracy. If it doesn't work, it's very hittable. His future depends on developing a knuckleball that succeeds more than it fails. A task that is one of the hardest feats in baseball. But if it can be mastered, he could have a long, productive career.
Big if, but it will be interesting to watch...
#3 - 2024 Bowman Chrome Draft - Walker Jenkins - 1999 25th Anniversary
1999 Bowman was a set I really liked. So when I found out Topps was bringing the design back for an insert set, I needed the Jenkins. Just waited nearly a year so the price would drop. (And I remembered to buy it...) All the way to a dollar! This is a REALLY nice looking card. Minor disgruntlement with the font aside, have to accept that's just what Topps is going to do. A great duplication of the design, then botch it with a font choice that is always slightly off.
Again, good job replicating the 1999 Bowman card back.
Again, it's not hard to find a previously used font.
#2 - 2023 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary - Gary Carter - Logofractor
This card scanned really terrible. In real life, the actual card is a brilliant silver, that reflects all the colors in the spectrum. Which contrasted perfectly with the colors of the Montreal Expos. Bonus points awarded for Topps choosing a mugshot from Carter's final season. He resigned with Montreal in 1992, to finish his career with the team who drafted him. The accompanying action photo comes from his first run with the Expos, which lasted from 1974 to 1984.
Never pulled this one (meaning base card) from a pack, when I was ecstatic to find cheap Blasters in retail, but I always wanted this card. In any form. Just so it compliments the photos, which I felt were key to its value. The bright silver complimented these pictures. This sick sad greenish gray just looks awful, in comparison.
******
Before I get to number one on the ebay Whatever, there's a second part to my neighbor's early 1980's Anoka Burger King birfday party. Which I wasn’t going to bother adding to the story, but I found a picture! After our Burger King time, we all went to the old Anoka Cinema, to see a movie.
It wasn't Close Encounters.
This was the only image I could find on the Googles, of an Anoka Cinemas movie listing. None of these theaters are around today. Apache 4 (later 6) being a sentimental favorite. According to the titles showing at these area theaters, this would be from 1980. About two years before the theater's first remodel. And 26 years before I took this picture...
After sitting vacant for several years, the former Anoka Cinema was completely renovated and converted into the Lyric Arts Main Street Stage. The Lyric Arts have been putting on plays and musicals here, since 2001. From the interior photos I've seen, they did a nice job in converting the place. Looks nothing like how I remember.
45 years ago, Anoka Cinema (which opened in 1949) was a single screen movie theater, sorely in need of renovations. In 1982, the theater was split into two screens, to compete with the area 4-plexes. You could blame Village 4 in Coon Rapids, and Northtown Cinemas in Blaine, for draining movie viewers from Anoka. The money trickle slowed and the theater itself was becoming pretty gross toward the end. Instead of getting those greatly needed renovations, it just got worse and worse. At one point, the ceiling partially collapsed in one of the auditoriums.
Anoka Cinema closed for good around 1997.
Thanks to the Googles, I found this photo of Anoka Cinemas from the Anoka County Historic Society. It was taken after the theater closed. Flubber forever frozen against the window. The last movie shown at the theater, before it shut down for good.
Too bad there's no record of the old video arcade, that used to sit next door. Was a great time to play some video games after your movie ended, while waiting for someone's parents to pick you up. But in either 1981 or 1982, we didn't have to wait since that neighbor was with us. We were all around 5 years old, so it's not like we drove ourselves.
Those two events are what I remember from that day. I do not remember what movie we saw, after I ate my only Whopper Jr. in my life. But I distinctly remember eating a Whopper Jr. before watching the movie I don't remember seeing, at the old Anoka Cinema.
And that is my biggest memory of Anoka Burger King!
It's time for number one...
#1 - 2025 Bowman Chrome - Khadim Diaw - Green Lava Auto
Which should surprise absolutely no one, I spoiled this in my last story. The card is a real beauty in person, and less than $40 for a prospect that I believe in. Though I’m probably one of maybe six. So there’s really not much more I can add to this piece...
Any final thoughts, Anoka Burger King?
Yes, you are...
I like that old "<- Drive Thru" sign. Those haven't existed in a long time on Burger King signage. Happy that someone decided to take this picture, so I could save it.
Don't know that I'm going to make a habit out of taking requests, which would not be easy for me to do. This one just happened to fit perfectly at the exact right time. Would have been stupid to NOT do it.
So there you go, Anonymous.
Hope you enjoyed it.
And if you are truly Anonymous... Thank you for reading, but get to work! We've got a felonious 80 year old sociopathic narcissist with dementia, leading a fascist takeover of this country! With an unelected organization of White Christian Nationalists committing a big buncha unconstitutional stuff, in order to reshape this country in their image, and that shit needs to be taken down! Release the Epstien Files! Expose whatever went on with the 2024 voting in Rockland County, New York! Do some thing!
Expose something bigger than Anoka Burger King or a big mess of Khadim Diaw! Future of the world is at stake!
Coming soon... 300.
Not being from your area, I initially read your headline as "Ahsoka Burger King".
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