After 61 years of serving burgers, beers and malts to its loyal customers, the St. Clair Broiler shut its doors on Sept. 30.

Located on the corner of Snelling and St. Clair avenues in St. Paul, the family-owned St. Clair Broiler was a neighborhood hot spot for six decades, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

General manager Tim Henning said increasing rent and low profit margins are to blame, but he understands this is a painful loss for the Broiler’s loyal customers.

“A multi-generation environment that the neighborhood is losing,” Henning said.

Opening its doors in 1956, the St. Clair Broiler housed more than just hamburgers, pancakes and malts; it was home to some customers’ greatest memories.

“People either had their first date here,” Henning said. “Got engaged here.”

For longtime customer Linda Scott-Halverson, who has been dining at the Broiler for 30 years, it had become a second home.

“We watched the servers grow up,” Scott-Halverson said. “It’s like a family, it’s really sad.”

After announcing it would be closing, the St. Clair Broiler’s customers flocked to get their final fix of their favorite foods. Some customers even made cross-country trips to visit one last time.

“We’ve had people from Seattle,” Henning said.

For the staff, the customers and the community, the closing of this longtime dining destination won’t be an easy transition. But many hope the memories made will outlast the pain long after the St. Clair Broiler flipped its final flapjack.

Benton Johnson can be reached at bcjohnson@stthomas.edu.