For a period Big Lake City owned what was called the Municipal Liquor store. It sold to go bottles of booze, in what they called the “off sale” and also was a bar. The locals called it the Muni. The current Tootsie’s Tavern is the location of the bar. It was sold to Jim and Ann Gallus who expanded the building out from the west side of the bar and to the east of the dance floor pillars. When smoking was banned inside Minnesota businesses, the deck off the back was built. The owner at that time was Tootsie McKernan.
Bill Cutler was the manager of the Municipal. Long time bartender, Sharon Roster, said to at least around 1930 or 1940’s. In the 1970’s the offsale was moved to the cement brick building at the end of Tootsie’s parking lot until that moved to the current location.
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