Gray's restaurant in Dinkytown to close in July
Gray's, a quick-stop spot for college students in Dinkytown to grab a coffee or some "scratch food," is closing this month.
The business announced its final day of operations will be on July 17.
"We thank our amazing staff for their loyalty and hard work. We thank our incredible customers — our regulars, our irregulars, the dancers, the beautiful freaks, the lovers, the maestros, the muses — and all our friends who made this place the heart of Dinkytown," the post on Instagram reads.
Loring Catering and Events will continue to use the space, but Gray's as we know it is officially closing.
The restaurant is located in the space that formerly housed the Loring Pasta Bar, which opened to acclaim in 2001 and closed in 2017. It had previously been owned by Dinkytown businessman Jason McLean, who also sold the Varsity Theater after being sued over sex abuse allegations.
It was relaunched under staff ownership as LRx – Loring & Pharmacy Bar, and in December 2020 became Gray's, another nod to the building's past as a pharmacy.
Located on the corner of 14th Avenue Southeast and Fourth Street Southeast, the building has a rich history.
According to Preserve Historic Dinkytown, in 1885, Minneapolis Street Railway Company's "car barn" was located there at the original ending of the area's first horse-drawn streetcar line. The site acted as storage for the streetcars that ran along what then known as Fourth Street.
The site would then become Gray's Drugstore, and musician and songwriter Bob Dylan claims he once lived upstairs, per the Minnesota Daily.
