Snuffy’s Malt Shop on Cleveland Avenue closed its doors on July 25.

For 36 years, the restaurant served the community with affordable food and malt options, located only a short walk away from St. Thomas. While the St. Paul location closed, the three Twin Cities locations in Bloomington, Edina and Minnetonka still remain open.

A Star Tribune article reported that Dana Bach, the vice president for marketing at Snuffy’s “attributed the closing to rising rent and property tax and compliance issues with the Americans with Disabilities act.”

As a neighborhood staple, the closing announcement brought an influx of customers during the restaurant’s last week in operation, including many St. Thomas students hoping for a last taste of Snuffy’s specialty malts.

“It’s kind of a go-to place,” said Mariah Glinsky, a senior at St. Thomas.

Over the years, the restaurant served and employed many in the Highland area, including St. Thomas students.

“I really loved all the people there, and I feel that everyone was always super friendly,” said Morgan Ronsen, a former Snuffy’s server and St. Thomas sophomore. “No matter who was in Snuffy’s they just felt like family.”

While Ronsen was the only St. Thomas student employee before the restaurant closed, the workers ranged from teenage dishwashers to a cook who had been there for 30 years.

“They found him a job at a different Snuffy’s location,” Ronsen said. The restaurant also helped several other employees find jobs.

According to Snuffy’s website, former boxer-turned-restaurateur Mike Mueller opened the restaurant to fulfill his dream of creating a 1950s themed joint with fair-priced, quality meals.

After it was created in 1983, the malt shop carried a sense of nostalgia up until its close. The restaurant offered classic, comforting American food options and its walls were painted with colorful depictions of its food and animals wearing local university and high school memorabilia.

As for the future, Ronsen isn’t certain where Snuffy’s is headed.

“I think at the moment their main focus was to close shop,” Ronsen said.

“We hope a new opportunity in the Mac-Grove(land) and Highland area opens up for us because the Snuffy’s brand is alive and well, and we would love to continue to serve the loyal Highland community in the future,” Bach told the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Ronsen echoed that sentiment.

“Everyone would be so excited for a new Snuffy’s to open up,” she said. “I would totally go back if the opportunity came to me.”

Emily Haugen can be reached at haug7231@stthomas.edu.