Jim’s Place

Dates of operation: 1924-1958

Dates Listed in Green Book: 1948-1956

Jim’s Place began as a pool and billiard hall in the Rondo neighborhood of Saint Paul in 1924. Owner Jim Williams was so well known that the Northwestern Bulletin newspaper announced his new venture with the headline: “Popular Man Engages in Billiard Business.” Williams’ business transformed many times over its thirty-four years in operation, going from a billiard hall to a tavern to a restaurant until finally settling into how it was most widely known: simply as Jim’s Place.

Williams had a reputation for being serious and stern, but he was also known as a generous man. Even though his business found success very quickly, he continued to pay for regular advertisements just to support local newspapers. He also supported and encouraged a longtime waitress, Kathryn Pettiford, to follow her dream of becoming a performer. Kathryn was part of the famous Pettiford family of musicians which included Oscar and Ira Pettiford. She sang for Jim’s Place customers until she gained a full-time performance gig in Chicago.

timeline

Addresses:

1) 560 St. Anthony Avenue, St Paul, MN

Williams kept Jim’s Place connected to political and social goings-on around St Paul. When famous Black authors and performers came to the Twin Cities, customers knew they could buy tickets at Jim’s Place. When Williams ran a straw poll in advance of the 1938 mayoral election, newspapers treated the results as a potential indicator of the real election results. Unfortunately, the straw poll results were the opposite of the actual outcome!

Williams retired in 1958 after a long and successful career. Jim’s Place became Roady’s Bar under the new ownership of Christopher Oden and John Rial. In 1966, the building that once housed Jim’s Place was one of many Rondo buildings to be demolished for the construction of Interstate 94.