photo by Cori Hilsgen
Howie Zimmer holds the “Hospy” Hall of Fame Award he received in recognition of his 40 years in the hospitality business.

Howard “Howie” Zimmer was recently awarded the “Hospy” Hall of Fame Award by the Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association.

Zimmer has been in the hospitality business for 40 years. The award was presented to him in recognition of his “lifetime of achievement conducted with honor and dignity in Minnesota’s hospitality industry.” The award represents the MLBA’s highest honor.

Zimmer is the third oldest of nine children born to Alfred and Roselyn Zimmer. He grew up on a farm near St. Joseph and attended a one-room schoolhouse. He graduated from Cathedral High School and was in the Army Reserve for six years.

After graduation, he worked as a dispatcher for United Van Bus delivery, a purchasing agent for Munsingwear in Minneapolis. He also sold gym wear for E.R. Moore Co. of Chicago. In 1972, he made the decision to return to his roots.

While driving down main street in St. Joseph with his brother, Mark, Zimmer happened to mention he would like to get out of the big city and do something else. He told his brother he had saved $2,000.

Howie and his brother, Mark, were driving down the street when they saw one of the owners of Graffitti’s pizza walking down the street. Mark had heard the owners of Graffittii’s Pizza (even though they had only been in business for a short period of time) were interested in selling the place. Howie got out of the vehicle and approached the owner about the possibility of buying the business. It happened right there in the middle of the street – one of those “only-in-small-town” moments.

Grafitti’s Pizza was located in the building now occupied by The Local Blend.

Within a couple of days, Zimmer had purchased the business, and that was the start of his years in the hospitality business.

“Initial payments were $80 a month and rent on the building was $150 a month, which included the taxes and other things,” Zimmer said.

He received a lot of comments on his first pizzas.

“I remember someone saying, ‘What’s it going to look like next – a football?” Zimmer said.

As a business owner, Zimmer said he pretty much worked every day for two years to make it work. Beginning the third year in business, he started to offer a pizza-delivery service.

“That was the biggest transition,” Zimmer said. “Our business just went through the roof.”

At the time, Sammy’s Pizza and House of Pizza were the only other pizza businesses in the area in competition with Zimmer’s place. Graffitti’s Pizza was the only pizza establishment in the St. Joseph area. Zimmer said they started offering “all-you-can-eat” spaghetti with an order of garlic bread and a glass of pop, beer or wine for $1.50. The spaghetti produced a good profit for the business.

Zimmer remembers he had a blackboard on the wall where customers could write quotes and other things. One quote he still remembers was written backwards, as if looking in a mirror. It said, “How the heck do I get out from behind this wall?”

Zimmer’s 1978 menu listed cheese pizza prices of $2.10 (small), $3.10 (medium) and $4.15 (large).

During the 1980s, Zimmer sold Graffitti’s Pizza and purchased a bar in downtown St. Cloud, which is now known as Howie’s Sports Bar. He also purchased a bar in St. Stephen, which is now known as Howie’s Corner Bar and Grill. Additionally, he now co-owns with his brother, Rudy, bars in Becker, Clearwater, Belgrade and Kimball.

At this time, Zimmer has no plans to retire from the business.