When Bert Mattson co-founded Mickey’s Diner in 1939, he couldn’t have known the iconic status his dining car would gain.
Nor could Mattson have foreseen the global pandemic threatening Mickey’s existence 82 years later.
“I lay awake at night thinking what would my grandfather tell me to do. How do you navigate this?” Mattson’s granddaughter, Melissa Mattson, asked Friday as she wiped away tears.
Mattson’s 78-year-old father Eric Mattson currently owns the St. Paul landmark. She’s the diner’s president.
Hard as it was, a few days before Christmas, the Mattson family started a GoFundMe page and asked for help.
As of Friday, $20,000 of the $50,000 goal the family set had been raised.
“Our goal is to be here when things can return to normal,” Mattson said.
Scores of Twin Cities restaurants have closed under the weight of COVID-19 and government mandated restrictions.
But Mattson knows Mikey’s iconic status would bring added disappointment should it join the list of closures.
The downtown diner serves a diverse clientele of students, after-bar partiers, homeless individuals and businesspeople.
Mickey’s has been featured in TV shows and motion pictures, including The Mighty Ducks, Jingle All the Way and A Prairie Home Companion movie.
But its dining-car-small size, left Mickey’s particularly vulnerable to social distancing restrictions.
In October, the Mattson’s retrofitted the diner with a pick-up window. But even that became impractical once winter set in.
“We don't have events right now, we don't have concerts, we don't have bars for bar rush,” Mattson said.
What Mickey’s does have is bills. Property taxes, snow removal and maintenance expenses didn’t stop when income dried up.
As Mickey’s burned through its cash reserves, the Mattson family decided a fundraiser was the only way to get to the other side of COVID.
Gregory Schulz paused outside Mickey’s on Friday afternoon.
Before COVID, he ate at the diner two to three times a week, stopping every Saturday for a burger.
“It’s one of the famous burger places here in town,” Schultz said, dismayed he may lose his favorite diner.
Schultz took another look at Mickey’s and its padlocked door, before walking away.
“It’s part of history,” he said.