Community: History

Blast from the Past: From Hove's to Lund's

Today, Lund's/Byerly's is known as a quality supermarket chain in the Twin Cities. Its roots, however, is located at the intersection of Hennepin and Lake in Uptown, Minneapolis.

A small grocery store called Hove's opened on Hennepin Avenue just north of Lake Street in 1918. Russell T. Lund Sr. started out as an employee at Hove's in 1922. He became a partner in the cheese and cracker department before developing the Red E Popt Popcorn Company. The company was profitable and allowed him to build a new Hove's store on Lake Street.

(The land that eventually would make up all of the Lake Street Lunds store. Pre-1939.)

Lund Sr. purchased the land for the new store for $40,000 and knocked down several residential buildings to make way for the new store. The new store had a parking lot and wasn't the maze of a space as its previous location. In 1942, he opened a new store at 50th & France in Edina. Lund Sr's store was still under the Hove's name until 1964, when his agreement with Hove's ended. Before the agreement ended, Lund Sr. made an offer to purchase the business with the Hove's name and offered lifetime jobs to the existing employees. The negotiations were unsuccessful. When the name switched, Lunds created advertisements to assure its customers that only the name was changing.

(Hove's Lake Street store prior to 1964. Photo Credit: Lunds Food Holdings)

Several renovations of the building took place between the 1960s and today, with a substantial renovation and expansion taking place in the early 2000s. That renovation added a new loading dock, Caribou Coffee, and store space along the building's north side.

A few interesting facts:

- In 1978, the Minneapolis Star reported that the Lunds in Uptown was a great place to socialize. It quoted one customer who said "you can buy meat and meet girls all at the same time!" In the 1990s, several dating sources listed the produce department as a good place to meet other singles on a Friday night.

- There is a community room that the public can utilize on the second level. Interested parties can contact the store for more details.

- In 1991, Russell T. Lund III (Tres) became president and CEO of Lunds.

- In 1997, Lund Food Holdings acquired the Byerly's supermarket chain.

Website: www.lundsandbyerlys.com