Sully's - Minneapolis, MN

When we planned our road trip to Minneapolis we compiled a list of around 100 bars we wanted to try, but knew we'd only be able to make it to a fraction of that.

We ended up making it to 35, but one place we made absolutely sure we visited was Sully's. After all, how could we pass up a place that gets online reviews like these?

• "As a young woman, I was crazy to go in there alone. I am lucky I made it out of there not drugged or something. The staff is not very pleasant either."


• "It's way below a DIVE bar. Don't bother checking it out."


• "Watch your back while tossing down the real cheap beer"


• "Danger! Danger! Watch yourself! For those who crave excitement, check this place out. Drug deals in bathroom are a constant. "


• "I wish giving this bar zero stars was an option. "


• "Don't wear your nice clothes, as you might get a little blood on them in the scrap you'll find yourself in after a few too many rounds of Jim Beam."


• "So put on your steel-toed boots and brass knuckles, and head on down to Sully's. Where the men are men, and so are the women."


• "Sully's, where livers go to die. Truly a manifestation of end-stage alcoholism, this is the spot from whence the four horsemen of the apocalypse shall arrive to wreak havoc upon the earth as judgment day draws nigh."


• "I simply cannot stress to you how god awful this place is. Horrific traumatic memories flood my mind and my senses are transported to its urine scented pint glasses and feces stained walls just thinking about it."


• "A scummy dump. Every "patron" in here looks like a meth user/dealer. If you're looking to get harassed or assaulted, this is the place for you."

There was no way we were passing this up!

We arrived at Sully's at 2:55 on an overcast Saturday afternoon. Like most places in Minneapolis (and I wish more places in Kansas City), parking was in the rear so we entered through the back door.

Because of the Minneapolis smoking ban there was no tobacco smell to mask the base odor of stale urine, faint remnants of vomit, and a faint but sharp odor that was reminiscent of the spray of a male cat.

We made our way down the narrow corridor to the large rectangular bar, where I ordered an Icehouse and my friend ordered a Bud.

We spied a Silver Strike machine and decided to play. My friend accidentally chose a female character so he made sure I did as well. I had never actually played before, so after losing the first game he gave me some pointers. I came back to defeat him for the next two games.

Meanwhile an intoxicated biker was trying to make song selections on the adjacent Internet jukebox but could not figure out how to use it. He asked for our help, so my cohort helped him find and play Still Loving You by the Scorpions as well as some Helloween, Metallica, and Black Sabbath. Eventually he decided he no longer needed help, and expressed this by grabbing my pal's arm and pushing him away.

Despite this minor scuffle we were a little let down. This was not the diviest dive we have been to, and it wouldn't even come close to being our scariest bar experience that day. (That would come about 3-1/2 hours later and will be the subject of a future post.) Still, this was a place that definitely met every single one of our dive bar criteria and was well worth the trip.

As we left the bar we were cornered by a pair of drug dealers in the parking lot. They were selling prescription drugs and were especially pimping their Vicodin.

"How much is that going for?" my friend asked.

"$2 a pill," replied one of the dealers.

"Hmmmm....." my friend paused as he feigned interest, "Naw, I'll have to pass. I can get them much cheaper from the hospital I work at."

As we climbed into the car I took a picture of the drug dealers to remember them by.

Sully's was located in the Nord East area of Minneapolis, on the east side of Central just north of Lowry. Unfortunately it has closed, the smoking ban has been cited as the reason for it's demise. As of this time we have been unable to confirm if another bar has re-opened in its place, and there is information that a neighboring food processing facility may have expanded into this location. It appears Sully's is now just a memory.