A Little Bit of History
The Restaurant
Libertys opened just before the bicentennial year of our nation’s birthday… hence the name “Libertys.”
The first Libertys restaurant opened in 1975, at 419 Plum St. –Just one block from our present location. “We mortgaged everything except our kids to start Liberty Pizza” said Lee and Dorothy. Our original restaurant building would fit into one quarter of our present lounge area. That was too small for us, even then, so we moved the business to a larger building on Main St. where Riverfront Center is now located. At that location we could seat approximately 75 people. The pizza baking area was in the back entrance, where Lee tossed pizza dough high in the air – the spectator’s loved it! But soon we outgrew that space too and moved to our present location in 1984, on the corner of 3rd and Plum Streets.
Rooted in Red Wing
A Family Tradition Begins
The original owners of Libertys, Lee and Dorothy, have worked in the restaurant industry since the early 1960’s starting as most did… doing dishes and waiting tables.
The Next Generation Carries It Forward
In 1999 Doug, the youngest of Lee and Dorothy’s 3 sons, bought Libertys and is now carrying on the family business.
50 Years of Serving Red Wing
In October of 2025 Libertys Restaurant celebrated its 50th year in business and plans to be around for generations to come.
A Taste of Tradition, A Piece of Red Wing History
We take pride in making the most fresh and best quality recipes for all of our foods that come out of our kitchen. With items like our pizza sauce recipe, which has only been made by two people since 1975 –Lee and Doug.
We invite all to take a walk around the restaurant and lounge areas to take in some of the great photos and memorabilia
from Red Wing’s yesteryear.
Step Inside and Discover the Stories Behind Libertys
The Building
In the 1800’s, three wood framed buildings occupied the site where Libertys Restaurant & Lounge now stands. They were destroyed by fire and replaced in 1872 with the four brick buildings all of which face Plum St. and make up our entire restaurant and lounge areas.
In 1883, H. Lindberg commissioned the two-story section of the building and operated it as a saloon and liquor store until at least 1903. Later on into the 40’s and through to the 60’s it was occupied by a pool hall which was well known for a place to catch up on sports scores and place wagers on just about any event during the time.
What is now the bar area was a three-story building that used to be a large store run by Robert Bergland and Gus Lillyblad whom were stone and lime producers who probably operated it as a “company store” for their employees.
A Building With Stories to Tell
Historic Businesses
The two buildings that make up our lounge later made a home for Hooley’s Grocery Store, which was a successful two generation business. The Hooley family, Matt and sons Jack and Charles, later moved to Stillwater and co-founded Cub Foods in 1968. We have an advertisement from Hooley’s from 1934 hanging in our lounge area.
These historic buildings have also been home to many other businesses as well, from a boot and shoe manufacturer and wholesaler, Sears catalog outlet, the Mydina Cafe', the Oriole Cafe', a clothing store, a speakeasy during prohibition, and a “house of ill repute”, but we are not investigating that one too carefully.
Restoring the Past, One Detail at a Time
Preserving Red Wing’s Victorian Charm
In 1995 we invested in a major restoration project, which entailed researching old photos and other historic buildings in the neighborhood. During the renovation process, we removed over 30 layers of paint, fixed more than 4000 broken bricks, and replaced all the exterior windows with new ones made in the traditional shapes of the 1870’s to restore the buildings Victorian charm.
A Red Wing Tradition Is Waiting to Welcome You
Come Be Part of the Story
Discover the food, family and history that have made Libertys Restaurant and Lounge a Red Wing tradition for more than 50 years.