Still empty? Man, so many aspects of my life in MN were intertwined with Shinders; from it being the place where I bought my comics in the ‘burbs to my friends I spent my 20s loafing around with.

Legend has it that MN musician Curtiss A (the 32nd Annual Lennon Tribute Show is just around the corner!) was working the counter when a woman came in and lit herself on fire to protest the pornography the store sold.

Also, the squeaky back door back room area? That’s where employees nicknamed a certain WCCO TV personality The Leather Weatherman.

stuffaboutminneapolis:

wr3n:

Shinders, 733 Hennepin Ave

This building has sat vacant since before I moved here, I believe. I went digging for some history on it and found the following:

“Shinders, founded by five brothers in 1916 shortly after they immigrated from Russia, opened its first location at the corner of S. 6th Street and Hennepin Avenue and adopted the jingle “Rain, sun, snow or sleet, there’s always a Shinder on the street.” The business was in its heyday in the 1940s and ’50s, selling thousands of newspapers and “huge piles” of magazines daily, said Shinder.” - Matt McKinney, Star Tribune, July ‘07

According to MSP Business Journal, Shea, Inc. will be moving in and there is talk of a restaurant.

Loved Shinders when I was growing up. I would ride my bike downtown all the time as a kid to thumb through baseball cards and look at comic books there. And every Shinders had that back room area where creepy middle age guys would pull open a squeaky door to go in and thumb through the latest “Swedish Erotica” type magazines.