The bar and restaurant, located just across the Hennepin Avenue bridge from downtown, is owned by brothers Tony and Rob Jacob. The Jacob brothers bought the bar and restaurant in 1999.
"We have made the decision to close Nye's after careful consideration," Rob Jacob said Monday. "In recent years, business has fallen off and it's been difficult for us to stay competitive."
Nye's will close in late summer or early fall.
Restaurants don't generally give advance notice of closures, but Jacob said the company decided to go against the grain out of respect for the bar's 35 employees. Nye's workers are members of Local 17 of the Twin Cities Hospitality Union.
The brothers also hope the announcement will inspire customers to come in for one last round. That kind of approach helped Chicago-based Hot Doug's — like Nye's, a local institution — drum up huge business before it closed earlier this year.
"It's the end of an era and we want to do it the right way," Jacob said. "It was time for Nye's to quit while we were ahead."
Rob Jacob said that he and his brother have not yet decided what they will do with the property.
Nye's was founded in 1950 by Al Nye. The decor, menu and even a portion of the clientele has gone on largely unchanged since that time.
Its unstinting retro flair has earned the restaurant and watering hole national recognition. In 2006, Nye's was named best bar in America by Esquire Magazine, which wrote:
"More accurately, it is the two best bars in America -- Nye's Bar, known as the "Old Side" to its ancient staff and unshifting regulars, and the upscale bordello kitsch of the Polonaise Room -- connected through their shared fire wall by a pair of swinging doors."
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/
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