The neon signs out front still said Lee’s, but all the regulars knew the beloved Minneapolis watering hole belonged to Louie Sirian. Texas honky-tonker Dale Watson even wrote a song about it, titled “Louie’s Lee’s Liquor Lounge.

What was first known as Lee's Liquor Bar opened on the corner of North 12th Street and Glenwood Avenue in 1957. It was once part of a warehouse originally built in 1891. Lee Triemert — who founded the saloon with his wife,

Louis Sirian, who owned the Minneapolis bar Lee's Liquor Lounge for nearly 40 years and turned the Glenwood Avenue watering hole into a popular music venue, died Saturday in St. Paul. He was 88.