Randy Cooper of Eagan is not new to restaurant ownership, having opened several establishments in the Eagan area. Cooper previously had ownership stakes in Wildcats Bar and Grill, Saga Bar and Grill (now Trail Stop Tavern), Tavern 13 in Burnsville, and Scratch Pizzeria in Eagan before retiring from the restaurant business on April 1, 2024. In June, he was contacted about the opportunity to own and operate Pub 55 in Hastings. The opportunity piqued his interest enough to bring him out of retirement.

“At the end of June, I got a call that this place was closing,” Cooper said. “The owner said, if you are interested, let me know. I officially retired on April 1 after selling five different restaurants that I owned. We ended up coming to an agreement, and we cleaned, reupholstered, and got the place where it should be. We opened the doors on August 5.”

The menu features American-style fare with burgers, chicken, steak, shrimp, and a variety of appetizers. Prior to Cooper’s involvement, Pub 55 never had a broiler and cooked their burgers on a flattop. Cooper added the broiler to the kitchen and expanded the meat offerings on the menu.

As for beverages, Cooper is looking to continually upgrade the tap beer selection, including adding five new tap beers that were not previously part of the Pub 55 menu.

“We are just trying to make it a fun atmosphere with a lot of events going on throughout the week,” Cooper added.

Cooper also changed the logo on the uniform shirts. Previously, and on the current signs outside, the Pub 55 shield featured orange, white, and green in the background, resembling the flag of Ireland, because Pub 55 was styled as an Irish pub. This has been updated to an American flag on the shirts, and the signs will also change to an American flag in the future.

“I know that Larry, who previously owned the place, was a vet, so that was important to him. We wanted to pass that on to our customers and employees. My father was a vet, and my grandfather was a vet, so it has good meaning to me to follow in those footsteps,” Cooper said.

The restaurant itself has also received a fresh look with new paint inside and out and booths that have been reupholstered in red, white, and blue.

Cooper is introducing pull tabs starting September 1, utilizing the same organization that was used by the previous owners. They plan to host meat raffles on Tuesdays and Saturdays, trivia on Tuesday nights, BINGO on both Wednesday and Friday nights, karaoke on Thursday nights, and they aim to have as many sports games as possible.

“We are really excited for the Vikings' upcoming season, so we are going to offer some specials on Sundays for that. We just want to make this a fun and clean atmosphere here,” he said.

One potential special during Vikings games? Three-dollar Miller Lites and nine-dollar cheeseburger baskets.

Stop in, check out the new digs and the menu, and meet the staff. Pub 55 is located at 880 Bahls Drive.