Demolition Work Begins on Old Cowboy Jack’s in Downtown St. Cloud

ST. CLOUD — The demolition work has begun on the former Cowboy Jack’s building in downtown St. Cloud.

The bar and restaurant has been closed since February of 2020 after the arson fire next door destroyed the Press Bar building and severely damaged both the buildings that housed Cowboy Jack’s.

The buildings at 506 and 510 West St. Germain Street date back to the early 1900s and have a long history in downtown St. Cloud.

The owners of Cowboy Jack’s, the After Midnight Group, have bought the former Press Bar site and have pledged to build a bigger better restaurant and bar on the property, however, a timeline or design plans have not been made public.

While demolition work begins on the Cowboy Jack’s buildings, construction is moving along on two other prominent corners downtown.

Work continues on the new Starbucks Coffee Shop at the corner of 6th Avenue and Division Street.

Also, ground has been broken on the new Bremer Bank building on the former St. Cloud City Hall building site along 5th Avenue and Division Street.

The three projects come at a time when there appears to be a renewed focus on revitalizing downtown St. Cloud.

The St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce has recently taken over the leadership role of the former St. Cloud Downtown Council.  President Julie Lunning says they will designate a staff person that will specifically focus on downtown projects.

And, in his preliminary budget presentation to the city council in August, Mayor Dave Kleis says the downtown is his top priority, including creating as many as 1,000 housing units in downtown in the next five years.