Nomad World Pub patrons watching World Cup soccer in 2014 might also react this way to news the bar is for sale. / Star Tribune file (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Minneapolis' Nomad Pub is for sale (for a lot of money)
The owner also recently reopened the Country Bar in Uptown but says that's not why he's putting his West Bank bar on the market for an asking price of $1 million
May 17, 2016 at 8:24PM
For sale: One historic West Bank Minneapolis watering hole that's popular with soccer lovers and music fans. Asking price: $1 million.
Ads for the Nomad World Pub suddenly popped up on Zillow and other real-estate sites this week, and then showed up again all over Facebook on Tuesday as patrons feared for its future.
The sales pitch in the ad calls it a "rare opportunity to own an iconic bar." It goes on to say, "The operation is profitable and has numerous opportunities to increase the annual revenue. The Nomad is the place to be for a diverse and robust clientele through its programming of nightly live music, bocce ball leagues, World Cup soccer, Zombie Pub Crawls, trivia etc."
So what gives, then, if it's such a great place?
Owner Todd Smith -- who took over the former Five Corners Saloon space in 2005 and became a torchbearer for the sometimes troubled neighborhood -- declined to comment on the specifics of why he put the pub up for sale. However, he said there's no eminent, pressing reason to unload it, and he hopes it would wind up in the hands of a like-minded bar owner if it is sold.
"I love the Nomad and am proud of what we've done here," Smith said. "Now, I'm interested in knowing if anyone wants to carry on with what we started."
Smith recently took over another old saloon space with a lot of character and renovated it, the Country Bar in Uptown's Lyn-Lake area, which reopened in April. However, he said that the new old bar has nothing to do with his plans at his older old bar. The Nomad is close enough to the soon-to-open U.S. Bank Stadium that the new Vikings palace might be considered another selling point for it.
Coincidentally or not, the Viking Bar is about to reopen. Another old watering hole on the West Bank that closed in 2005 just as the Nomad was opening up, the Viking has new owners who finally took down the "Gone Fishing" sign and are now renovating the place. They reportedly have solid plans to restart the live music offerings there in the coming months.
Critics’ picks for entertainment in the week ahead.
