For our fourth and final stop on the Mankato Historic Pub Crawl, we hit Red Sky Lounge. It is by far the hippest spot on the tour, but alas, we learned the least about its history. Instead, we heard more about what bars it had been over the years, and how the current owners came to take it over and what they’d done to renovate. Still, worth a look.
The third spot on the pub crawl was a spot called Pub 500. For a long time, it was a gas station, conveniently located near a tire store (that’s still in business). Today, it’s a pub and restaurant, owned by the same people who own the Happy Chef chain of restaurants. Betcha didn’t know the Happy Chef was based in Mankato, Minn., didya?
Here’s one way to learn about this history of your town: take a walking tour — and have cocktails at the same time!
OK, it was more like pints, rather than cocktails, but we learned a lot and had fun too. Our first stop. Rounders in Mankato, after the jump.
Schell’s Brewery in New Ulm, Minn. was established in 1860, making it the second oldest brewery in the US. (The first is Yuengling.) We went for a tour and a tasting on a beautiful Friday afternoon.
