19 Bar sues trash company over fire that closed storied gay bar

The owner of 19 Bar, the storied LGBTQ-friendly Loring Park dive, has sued the trash hauling and recycling company that he said caused a fire in March and jeopardized the building’s sale.

The bar caught fire when a garbage truck owned by Lakeshore Recycling Systems backed into and hit a telephone pole, which fell on a gas line to the building and electrified it. Security cameras captured the incident.

Gary Lee Hallberg, 19 Bar’s owner, sued in Hennepin County District Court on Monday. He had entered a contract to sell the bar and its assets one week before the incident, according to the suit. The property had a market value of $2.8 million then, and a contract with the bar’s longtime manager called for a $1.4 million sale.

The fire rendered the property a total loss and led to the sale’s cancellation, the suit read.

“It’s just ludicrous that all this has happened,” Hallberg said in an interview.

Reconstruction is underway, he said. Insurance has covered about half of the bar’s repairs so far, which includes mitigation and replacement of the floor, ceiling, steps and roof, Hallberg said.

The bar is asking for damages in excess of $2.8 million for the loss of the property’s market value, its assets, displacement costs, labor costs, loss of investment and legal fees. The suit alleges Lakeshore Recycling Services (LRS) breached its duty of care to drive safely and not damage the property.

“To date, despite demand, LRS has failed and refused to compensate plaintiffs for their damages as a result of the fire,” according to the complaint.

19 Bar was the first gay bar to open in Minneapolis, one of the oldest continuously operating sites of its kind in the United States. It was purchased by Hallberg in 1992. He feels confident about leaving it in new hands once the bar is repaired and reopened.

“He’s going to be great, and he’s been the manager for a long time, too,” he said.

Hallberg hopes to reopen the doors at 19 Bar by New Year’s Eve.

Attempts to reach Lakeshore Recycling representatives by direct message and email were unsuccessful.