Quarantine Renewal: Hanson's Bar gets facelift in and out

It seems fair to say that many of us haven't "gotten out much" over the past months. But while the majority of folks hunkered down inside, New Rockford businesses saw the silence as an opportunity to make some changes for the better.

In the coming weeks, the "New Rockford Transcript" will be highlighting the renovations, expansions and relocations that local businesses have undergone since the beginning of the pandemic.

We kick off the series with the iconic Hanson's Bar on Central Avenue. It's been five years since Dalton Weber became the owner and operator of Hanson's. He acquired the downtown bar from his grandfather, Robert Lies. Since taking over, Weber has taken note of several renovations. Some were necessary for the preservation of the structure, while others would improve the overall aesthetics of the place.

Then, Weber went down the list and considered the time and energy that it would take to implement each of his ideas. He decided that it would be best to complete one project at a time.

He chose to start with the roof, the area that needed the most attention to properly preserve the structure. Contractors built a new pitched roof above the aged flat one and covered it with steel. But then when Governor Burgum passed an executive order for restaurants and bars to be closed on March 20, Weber saw it as the perfect opportunity to tackle more projects.

"I had no intention of re-doing the floor this year," Weber explains. However, the lack of customer traffic suggested there was no time like the present. The newly installed floor is an interlocking gravity tile that provides a comfortable and safe walking surface, but also is impressively easy to clean.

Other renovations include refinishing the west wall with barn wood and applying fresh varnish on the western-style paintings on the wall.

When asked about the history of the paintings on the wall, Weber quickly provided a book titled "Pacing Dakota" by Thomas Isern, which included some background on the paintings and the bar. It turns out that the paintings were done in the same style as the Post Office murals commissioned by Franklin Roosevelt during The New Deal. Artist Cowboy Joe Breckenridge, who gained the title of the "fastest painter in the west" at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933, painted murals in Hanson's Bar in 1947.

Historic paintings are just one of the unique features within Hanson's Bar that Weber had to take into consideration as he remodeled. With just one look above the bar, it's easy to see that his grandfather was a collector of all sorts of memorabilia. "He knows each one of those pieces, and has a story for everything." Weber added, "There's so much stuff in here, customers love it."

In renovating the walls, Weber used rustic barn wood to keep with the theme. The ceiling took on a rustic informal look as well. After removing the ceiling tiles, Weber uncovered the building's original ceiling and decided to keep it.

The last of the updates involved putting a fresh coat of varnish on the bar and replacing the old jukebox with a modern digital version.

When Weber showed the renovations to his grandfather, he wasn't sure what to expect. He asked grandpa Robbie what he liked best, and with a pat on the shoulder he replied, "I'm sure glad you got the roof done."

Patrons can also enjoy games such as darts, electronic pull-tabs and pig-wheel. Hanson's also features an outdoor area where patrons can sit and relax in the summer air, play volleyball or throw cornhole.