Those that knew George Kappas, the colourful owner of the landmark Gopher Bar in downtown St. Paul, say a neighborhood legend has died. He was 75.
Kappas, an achieved skier, golfer and hockey player who abandoned a burgeoning profession as a forest ranger to assist run his parents’ bar after the death of his sister, was beloved for meting out heaps of attitude — even insults — together with beer and Coney Island hot dogs.
“He was greater than just this vulgar, outspoken, in-your-face sort of guy,” said former school board member John Brodrick, from the car parking zone of the funeral home where Visitation services were scheduled Monday. “George, let’s just say his bark was lots worse than his bite. He was a softhearted guy and an excellent sportsman. I used to be an enormous fan of George Kappas, despite the fact that sometimes he could make a man cringe. And he had one of the best rattling Coney Island ever.”
Multiple person mourning his death on the bar’s Facebook page called Kappas “a St. Paul legend,” “a personality” and “unique.”
“A one in all a form character very like the Gopher Bar itself,” one person wrote while one other said, “George, you said whatever you wanted.”
The Gopher Bar is just as well-known for its owner as its Coney Island hotdogs.
Reviewers on TripAdvisor warned in regards to the side of attitude the bar owner often dished out.
“If you happen to are prone to being easily offended, don’t go here. If you happen to are easy going and love a hole within the wall bar, with an opinion, that is your home!” one reviewer wrote.
“If you’ve thin skin, don’t trouble,” one other reviewer wrote. “A classic family owned business that’s 90 years old and so they have earned the precise to inform you what they think AND they’ll. There can be many F bombs from Sherry and George (owners) but it is going to be extremely entertaining. Really among the finest hotdogs I actually have ever had and the beer is ice cold. Good time!!!!”
The enduring bar’s owner didn’t hesitate to say what was on his mind.
As one reviewer wrote in regards to the bar, “It’s well-known for its saucy service. I warned my companions to not ask silly questions but sure enough: ‘what should I get’ was met with ‘how the F*** should I do know.’ Classic. … Just play along and have a good time.”
At the identical time, people said George Kappas made people feel at home after they walked into the bar.
“You added a profound and colourful dynamic to those that knew and understood you. Thanks for all the time making us feel at home on the Gopher,” one person wrote on the Facebook post.
His mother, Phyllis, and father, Andy Kappas, met when Phyllis got here to work on the tavern as a waitress on the Coney Island business, which Andy Kappas established at 82 W. Seventh St., near the old Auditorium, in 1935. The bar was moved to its present location, at East Seventh and Wacouta streets, in 1955.
George Kappas quit Bemidji State University, where he was studying to turn into a forest ranger, to assist his parents run the bar after the death of his sister, Stephanie Kappas, however the temporary gig became his lifelong calling.
When his mother died in 2007 the bar was described in a Pioneer Press article as “a spot where a working man with concrete dust on his jeans may sit next to a lawyer in pinstripes, where off-duty firefighters, cops and a crook or two all feel comfortable.”
On the time, George Kappas called it “a refuge for anyone.”
The coney, a nickname for a Coney Island chili dog, was an enormous draw early on and still draws a lunchtime crowd. The coney was temporarily discontinued shortly after the 1955 move because homeless working men who lived on the Union Gospel Mission, then positioned across the road, wanted full meals.
The coney was brought back in 1981, two years before before his future wife Cheri began working on the bar. Her children soon joined her there, and Cheri and George Kappas began dating in 1993. They married in 2005 on the Gopher Bar, in keeping with an obituary prepared by the family.
He’s survived by Cheri, stepsons Kevin and Karl King, and grandchildren Kaylyn, Wicanhpiokinyan and Wakinyan King.
George Kappas was an energetic member of St. George Greek Orthodox Church and the Greek community, in keeping with the obit, and he played hockey at White Bear High School, at Bemidji State University and later with the championship-winning St. Paul Senior Men’s Club.
He was an assistant hockey coach for Johnson High School under the late Rod Magnuson in 1984, when the boys’ team went to the state tournament, and a member of the Bald Eagle Water Skiing Club. In 2021, he was named “Man of the Yr” by the Keller Men’s Golf Club at Keller Golf Course in Maplewood.
Having George there, one person wrote on the Facebook post, made the entire visit “an experience.”
“Once went into Gopher Bar and the (4) of us sat down at a table,” one other person wrote. “We each ordered a beer. A pair minutes later from behind the bar George yelled at us ‘you wish a pitcher? It’s (expletive) cheaper!’ He was all the time searching for his patrons. RIP.”
A Visitation will beheld from 2 to six p.m. Monday at Honsa Family Funeral Home, 2460 East County Road E, White Bear Lake.
Frederick Melo contributed to this report.