A “Nest” for Teenage Robins

This treasured photo of the original Robin’s Nest root beer shack was brought into the Robbinsdale Historical Society Museum by Anita McLaughlin, daughter of the longtime owners of the “Nest,” as it was known for short. McLaughlin estimates that the photo is from around 1958-59. Being roughly kitty-corner to Robbinsdale High School, the “Nest” was a popular after-school spot for teens. It was located at 3419 Vera Cruz Ave. N. (which served as the Highway 100 frontage road), south of 36th Ave. N., along with several other businesses, including the Beltline Pet Hospital, Cosmopolitan Motel, a Union 76 gas station, and several eateries.

Anita said that sometime around 1963 to 1965 a violent storm came through and leveled this shack. But, thanks to a generous insurance settlement, the family was able to salvage the business and rebuild a new, larger Robin’s Nest at the same location. It featured a carport, where drivers could pull in and place their orders over an intercom. There were frosty mugs of A&W Root Beer in various sizes, and you could order a soft serve ice cream cup called a “Ya” for just $.40 back in the ’60s.

An advertisement for the Nest on page 24 of the 1966/67 RHS Student Directory suggested “Call Ahead And Your Order Will Be Ready When You Arrive. KEllogg 3-8337.”

Anita worked at the family business every summer in some capacity from the age of five until 1983, when she graduated from Cooper High School. A couple of years earlier a Burger King had opened across Highway 100. The competition proved too much to overcome, and the Nest was shuttered. The McLaughlin family shifted their business to tax preparation, operating year round in the same building (with plenty of parking out front for customers). The building eventually became a victim of the widening of Highway 100 in the 1990s, when the intersection of Highway 100 and 36th Ave. N. was changed from a stop light to an overpass. McLaughlin Tax Service then relocated to New Hope, and finally closed in 2023.

In looking at the historic photograph at the museum, a 1969 Robbinsdale grad remarked, “I still can’t get enough A&W Root Beer, and a frosted mug sends me right down memory lane!”