Tim Mahoney

Robby Incmikoski: All right, here we go. Timmy Mahoney, my brother. We're not using the audio, we’re not using the video—just so we're clear. We’re just taking the transcription. All right, hey, so here's what I want to talk to you about. You own a bar right next to Target Field, and I was there for the whole thing. I was there for the first three years of Target Field when I was with the Twins. Here's what I want to ask: as a Minnesota guy, you've owned The Loon since when? '82?

Tim Mahoney: '82.

Robby Incmikoski: You owned The Loon when you obviously went through all the years with the Metrodome. But when Target Field was built, Timmy, how did that impact the city? How did it impact downtown Minneapolis and beyond, as it relates to baseball? What did that place do for the city overall?

Tim Mahoney: The concept of having an open-air stadium was new, since most people grew up with the Dome and watching the Twins in the Dome—which, we found ourselves as baseball fans, you’d end up going to other cities to watch baseball outside: you’d go to Wrigley, Comiskey, Milwaukee County Stadium before they had a roof, Kansas City, etc. So when they built that originally—the original site they were looking at was where the Guthrie Theater is now. The only other site available was the one where it is today, which basically was a big old parking lot. How they fit that thing in there, I'll never know.

But what that did for downtown Minneapolis, the revitalization of downtown and the economic impact of having that stadium down there, is at least tenfold. To this day, if the Twins had moved to the suburbs—or moved out of the city or out of the state—you would’ve seen a devastating financial impact, first of all for the city, and second of all for the fan base. So when they decided to build that, the excitement was there, and people were very, very excited.

I remember one of the first home games we had, it started raining—and people didn’t leave their seats. They started chanting “Outdoor Baseball!” and I was like, “All right, we have arrived.” The amount of people, when we opened up that stadium... As you well know, it was—I mean, the uniqueness in Minnesota, only in Minnesota this could happen, where Dave St. Peter, Matt Hoy, and the rest of the Twins were not only integral in building the stadium, they also wanted to make sure the neighborhood was involved and part of it. They didn’t want any bars or restaurants in the stadium. They wanted to make sure that the neighborhood felt like it was part of the action, kind of like Wrigleyville.

I think that first home game, as you know, was crazy. It was one of the most wonderful experiences I’ve ever had—the excitement. All those people I just spoke about were there; Dave St. Peter actually waited in line to get in, and I was like, “Wait a minute,” and I walked out and said, “Get in here.” Everyone was having a good time. That alone says what that stadium did to Minneapolis: it was a neighborhood development that included everybody, not just the Minnesota Twins, Game 1.

Robby Incmikoski: So Dave St. Peter waited in line to get into The Loon postgame after that first game... It’s amazing. Timmy, I remember that day very well. What I want to ask you is: what memories do you have of Opening Day, April 12, 2010? That was the first regular-season game, not talking about preseason.

Tim Mahoney: The home opener—first of all, I do believe the game was at 3:00 in the afternoon if I’m not mistaken.

Robby Incmikoski: Exactly right, 3:05.

Tim Mahoney: We were completely full by... Hang on for a second, I’ll shut my office door here... When we opened our doors that morning at 11:00, we had the restaurant and the bar completely full by noon—probably more like 11:30, we were packed. The excitement in the fans, an opening of a stadium—if you’ve never been part of that, it’s hard to explain, because it’s like Christmas. Baseball fans love Opening Day. There isn't anything like it. I'm part of opening day for the Twins, Timberwolves, Wild, Vikings—but the home opener for baseball is something special. It's everyone excited, their team has a chance for a championship, and it's the beginning of summer.

When you add a brand-new, spanking-beautiful ballpark that everyone's so excited to see, you can’t describe that euphoric energy. It was unbelievable.

Robby Incmikoski: I try to describe that day to people, and it’s nearly impossible to do. You talk about the look on people’s faces seeing open-air baseball for the first time since ’81 or whenever. Let me ask you this, Timmy: how would you describe what Target Field did for your business overall?

Tim Mahoney: It changed. Generally speaking, over the years downtown, The Loon Café had great lunch business from the downtown business core, good happy-hour business, and a strong nightlife. But once the ballpark opened, for the first 25 years at the Dome we’d just see enough summer traffic that we’d hire a couple extra people because the Twins were there. But you know, if they had superstars like Johan, when he pitched, you got an extra 5,000 people downtown wanting to see him. So we’d see that.

As you know, one of my partners who’s now passed was Jimbo Robertson, whose uncle was Calvin Griffith. So from the very beginning when we opened up, I remember going down to the clubhouse with gift certificates for the ballplayers, because they didn’t make much money back then. The unique thing about The Loon Café, more so than any bar or restaurant associated with any other team, is that in ’87 and ’91, those players literally came and hung out at the bar. They met their wives there, girlfriends there, they hung out there, they were part of the community. So that was so unique. It probably never happens again.

And after the new stadium opened, Dave St. Peter, Matt Hoy, and all these folks were a big part of the community. That first home game was crazy. As you recall, for that game, it was just jammed.

Robby Incmikoski: Right, absolutely.

Tim Mahoney: Another part of it, the Sunday after that first weekend, Tom Brunansky called and said, “Hey, a couple of us with wives, kids, can we get a table after the game?” So two hours after the game, we set up a table. I had a big mural of the ’87 and ’91 World Series Twins that had been taken off the wall because someone tried to steal it, so it was upstairs. I brought it down for them to sign. They were sitting there telling their kids the stories of each picture on it: “This is what happened, what inning it was,” etc. They talked about how they’d come to The Loon after games, and that doesn’t happen in other places.

Even in later years, Frank Viola would come in, just be a regular guy having some beers, watchers or fans come up for pictures. That’s the thing about Target Field: it’s a social event. The excitement of winning is unbelievable.

Robby Incmikoski: For sure.

Tim Mahoney: Another story: Jack Morris would come in after every game and have his Miller Lite. One day he said, “Tim, if some 35-, 40-year-old drunk guy wants my autograph, I’m not giving it.” I said, “Okay, Jack, whatever.” But if a mom came up asking for her kids, he’d do it. So that was Jack’s stance. The day after he pitched arguably one of the greatest World Series games in history (10 innings, game was mid-afternoon next day), he shows up at The Loon. All the reporters are there, finishing coverage. He sits at the end of the bar, and I get him a Miller Lite. He says, “Tim, I wanted to personally come say thanks. I can be the biggest jerk, but your staff, people here have been awesome. Now that the season’s over, let’s have some fun.” That doesn’t happen often in any city.

Robby Incmikoski: You raised an interesting point—and I’ll end with this. I’ve never seen a city so intertwined with a baseball team as Minnesota is with the Twins. Another example, you have your chili stand inside Target Field. That’s not normal in MLB, right? Usually it’s corporate. So how cool is that, to have a piece of The Loon at Target Field?

Tim Mahoney: We’re fortunate. But it’s that atmosphere and the Twins themselves, being part of downtown. We pitched the chili, but we never heard back, and I guess there were legal complexities. Then I met a guy from Delaware North named Pete Spike, who turned out to be the main guy behind concessions. Eventually, we hammered out an agreement, but it was literally a handshake. That’s how it’s been every year since. That doesn’t happen. It’s community.

We were about two weeks away from the stadium opening and still had no final contract. Dave St. Peter himself came in and sat at the bar. He said, “Hey, is everything okay on your end? We’re good on ours. Let’s shake on it.” We shook hands, and to this day that’s all it’s ever been. So the relationship is unbelievably unique.

You were just there—it still looks like a brand-new stadium. It’s one of the greatest in MLB, in my opinion.

Robby Incmikoski: Totally agree, Tim. That’s one of my all-time favorites. I’ll stop the transcription now.