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A historic White Castle building in south Minneapolis will become a vintage store this weekend.
Artist Justin Schaefer plans to open his new, as-of-yet unnamed vintage shop in the small building located at 3252 Lyndale Ave. S. during this Sunday’s Open Streets Lyndale festival. The building is most easily recognized by its crenellated towers and parapet wall, much like a medieval castle.
Southwest Voices first reported the news Thursday.
It’s Schaefer’s first vintage shop open to the public, but he’s coming into the building with a heap of experience. He’s been selling vintage clothing for nearly six years and most recently ran an appointment-only vintage shop on the east side of St. Paul where buyers from Japan would often pick from his assortment to ship home and sell in their own shops.
“I've been buying [vintage clothing] my entire life,” he said. “I've been engaging with these kinds of environments and stores literally my entire life.”
Schaefer worked with higher-end operations like a popup boutique he had at legendary retailer Fred Segal in Los Angeles, and he said he often spent time browsing vintage stores like they were museums.
Minneapolis has a rich vintage clothing scene, he said. While there’s an “old guard” to the scene, he hopes to bring a type of “new nostalgia” to his shop in the White Castle building — offerings that range from 1990s and 2000s fashion to the “always cool” clothes from the ‘40s and ‘50s. He also plans to stock 1980s skateboards and accessories, local music ephemera and a Pee Wee Herman collection.
Schaefer wants an immersive, unique, visually overwhelming environment that’s “highly aestheticized” and curated. “I would say there's something for each and every single type of human being,” Schaefer said.
There’s 1,600 square feet for Schaefer to work with, plus some green space and a parking lot in the backyard. A skatepark is under construction across the street and he hopes skateboarders find their way into the store, too.
The structure was the eighth White Castle in the country and was once known for its 5-cent sliders, which is still advertised above the building’s windows. The building was originally located at 616 Washington Ave. SE before it moved to 329 Central Ave. SE in 1950, according to the Society of Architectural Historians.
The enamel-and-steel building found a home at its current location in 1984 and has since landed on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s been home to a contracting firm, an accordion shop and an antique and vintage store.
Schaefer said the store will be open six days a week, but he hasn’t solidified the hours.
