Two Very Different Saint Paul Restaurants Will Close Forever After This Week

Over the holiday weekend both Fabulous Fern’s at 400 Selby Avenue and Ward 6 at 858 Payne Avenue will close this week. Fern’s final day will be Wednesday May 30. Ward 6 will shutter after June 3.

Ward 6 first opened in the waning days of 2012 and led a string of new restaurants opening in historic locations on St. Paul’s Eastside that now includes Cook St. Paul, Brunson’s Pub, and Tongue in Cheek. Ward 6 is located in the old Hamm’s Brewery tied house (basically a brewery’s brewhouse.) When co-owners Bob Parker and Eric Foster opened the eatery, a Star Tribune review called it a “people magnet” and a “neighborhood asset.”

A Facebook post announcing the closure said that the restaurant had been losing money for some time. The post also apologized for not being able to keep the party going forever. The restaurant thanked all its employees, purveyors, and customers and asked that people who love a restaurant, frequent it as often as possible because the margins are so very thin.

Fabulous Fern’s also used its social media page to announce the decision to close after the death of its owner and a bankruptcy announcement in September of last year. The restaurant had been a mainstay of the Cathedral Hill neighborhood for over 26 years, an incredible run in the industry.

In 2015 Charles Senkler, co-owner of the bar passed away. At the time of the bankruptcy announcement owner Dan Dahlin cited his own health problems and made a plea for someone to swoop in and save the business.

Known as a great venue to catch the game, grab some free popcorn or legendary wings in the bar, or a nice spot to have dinner with the folks on the restaurant side, Fern’s has outlasted its neighborhood contemporaries as the area has changed. Spots like longtime dive Costello’s gave way to the more trendy Red Cow.

Wednesday 30 will be Fabulous Fern’s last call.

• Fabulous Fern’s Files for Bankruptcy [ETC]
• Ward 6, restaurant on St. Paul’s Eastside is closing [PiPress]