Name: Mickey's Diner
Address: Saint Paul, United States

SAINT PAUL, UNITED STATES · 1937

Mickey’s Diner

A prefabricated railroad-car diner that has anchored West 7th Street since 1939. It survived a four-year closure to reopen in 2024.

At a glance

Mickey’s Dining Car is a classic diner in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota. Designed to resemble a railroad dining car, the prefabricated building was constructed in 1937 by the Jerry O’Mahony Diner Company of Elizabeth, New Jersey, then shipped to Saint Paul by rail and opened in 1939. Its unusual architecture made it a local landmark.

History

The diner ran in continuous operation at the same location on West 7th Street from 1939 until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It remained closed from that point until it reopened on the morning of October 3, 2024. That is more than four years of silence in a building made for clatter and conversation.

What you see

The building is an unaltered example of railroad car-style diners. Its long, narrow form and metal detailing were meant to evoke a dining car on the rails, not a stationary room on a city street. The Jerry O’Mahony Diner Company built it as a complete unit, ready to be set down and switched on.

Cultural significance

Mickey’s was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 for its local significance in architecture and commerce. The nomination called it “a beloved, longstanding and unique social institution.” It is also one of the few surviving examples of its type in the American Midwest.

Key facts

Country: United States
City: Saint Paul
Coordinates: 44.9474, -93.0981
National Register of Historic Places: 1983

Practical information & getting there

Mickey’s Diner stands on West 7th Street in downtown Saint Paul. Check current opening hours before you go. After its 2024 reopening, the diner returned to its long-held corner after a pause no one expected to last so long.

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