Landmark Restaurant Auctioned In NW Minn.

EAST GRAND FORKS, Minn. (AP) -- A legendary restaurant in northwestern Minnesota is sold at auction.

Whitey's Cafe in East Grand Forks has a storied past, but lately hasn't been able to stay afloat.

Only a handful of bidders were invited to the auction. Organizers tell In Forum the new owner is from the area and is interested in maintaining the historic place.

Chicago gangsters and Hollywood legend Clark Gable are said to be among the early visitors at Whitey's. The restaurant and bar subsisted through a fire in the 1940s and flooding in the 1990s, but closed in February after the new owners said they couldn't make a go of it. One of the owners, Dave Norman, said a competitive marketplace hampered efforts to revive the restaurant, established by Edwin "Whitey" Larson at its current location in 1930.

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