Cassius Bar and Café
It was a pivotal moment when Anthony Brutus Cassius (1907-83) opened Dreamland Cafe and Tavern in Southside in 1939, but it was “monumental” when the doors of Cassius Bar and Cafe in downtown Minneapolis swung open in 1946.
A.B. Cassius and his wife Florence ran the popular Dreamland restaurant on 38th St and 4th Ave for over a decade in the predominantly Black neighborhood. There they served barbecue, fried chicken, beer, soft drinks, and a rompin’ time to residents of the neighborhood, many of whom were not welcomed at upscale places in downtown. Though a migrant from Oklahoma, Cassius was already well-known around the city for his activism in local labor movements and the NAACP. He had already proven himself as a champion of the community, yet his venture into the restaurant business provided a new way to serve folks and keep tabs on their busy lives.
The success of Dreamland Cafe led Cassius to push beyond the confines of his segregated neighborhood. What would it be like if Black people had a place to go and socialize in well-to-do downtown Minneapolis? In 1946 on 207 3rd St, the Cassius Bar and Cafe was born.
One of the first businesses of its kind in downtown, Cassius Bar and Cafe welcomed everyone, especially Black patrons who faced discrimination and hostility elsewhere. It was a classy establishment with the music and atmosphere of Harlem or New Orleans.
“In its early history, Cassius' bar was known as a place where whites and blacks mingled in elegant surroundings, dressed in tuxedos and cocktail dresses.” - Staff writer for the Star Tribune
Cassius continued to break barriers when he sought to open a full bar at the 3rd St location. When his first application for a liquor license was denied, a city alderman told him that “black people should only be licensed for barbecues, shoeshine parlors and barbershops.” Cassius fought for two years to obtain his license, eventually becoming the first African American in Minneapolis to do so. He also received a $10,000 loan for the Cassius Club, a milestone accomplishment for a Black business owner at the time. The successes brought the addition of a jazz venue called the Bamboo Room in 1949, which regularly booked local musicians and performers.
“The Dreamland Cafe, which sold 3.2 beer and served short-order dinners, was owned by Anthony Brutus Cassius. Everyone liked this barrel-chested, pockmarked, light-brown-skinned bull of a man. Cheerful and honest, he always conducted himself as if he were responsible to and for the people in our neighborhood Concerned about the Negro people, always contributing to some cause, Mr. Cassius was the first “race man” I met. Long before we came of age, the Dreamland - at least the cafe side - was our only social center.”
Cassius Bar in downtown Minneapolis, crossing a border
Cassius Bar and Cafe wouldn’t be possible without having had Dreamland first
Photo of him from HClib in the fur coat “photo after victory” related to getting his liquor license
Creating more of a hook, a problem that Cassius solved, story of success
Nuance between downtown Minneapolis and southside
Historiopolis posts by Kirsten Delegaard
There’s a section on “Liquor Patrol Limits” in the draft Minneapolis African American Historic and Cultural Context Study
Line in Black fire about AB Cassius being the first race man
Dreamland Cafe was “our only social center” page 19
Cassius Bar and Cafe was listed in the Green Book for 13 years (1941-1954)
“Cheerful and honest, he always conducted himself as if he were responsible to and for the people in our neighborhood Concerned about the Negro people, always contributing to some cause, Mr. Cassius was the first ‘race man’ I met.”
- Nelson Peery, Black Fire
“I mean it was a monumental thing when Mr. Cassius got a bar downtown Minneapolis. I mean that was just unbelievable.”
- Anthony Scott, Southside Resident
