The Pearsons were always a restaurant family, and they got their start long before Pearson’s Edina Restaurant opened its doors in 1973. Phil Pearson—who most recently ran the restaurant with his mother, Maureen Pearson, before it closed its doors in February—recalls that his grandparents, Paul and Helen Pearson, started their first restaurant in the 1930s. They built up a number of diners and drive-ins over the years, the most notable being the former Town Talk Diner on Lake Street in Minneapolis.
In 1973, the family sold it all to open Pearson’s. Paul and Helen acted as overseers, a sort of executive management team, while Maureen and Marston Pearson (Phil’s parents) and Paul, Jr. (his uncle) would manage the day-to-day operations. Just prior to the purchase, the building housed three separate businesses. The Pearsons began operating the restaurant out of the front room—the coffee shop area with the counter and booths—and over time remodeled the other two dining rooms.
One of the chefs from Town Talk stayed with the family, and in a combined effort between that chef, Paul and Helen, some of Pearson’s most classic recipes were developed, including the ever-famous Swedish meatballs. “It was originally a daily special, but people requested it so much that we put it on the regular menu. It was our number one seller for over 30 years,” says Phil. (You’ll find the Swedish meatballs and a few other dishes on the “Pearson’s Favorites” table tent at the new 50th Street Café.) Another celebrated dish was the lutefisk, an annual holiday tradition at Pearson’s that people would come back for year after year during the three-month period it was served.
Though the business had been in the family for more than three decades, Maureen and Marston were getting ready to retire and move on to bigger and better things, Phil says. They may have passed it on to their son, but he says, “I don’t have the passion that it takes for owning the restaurant.”
Despite not wanting to take on an ownership role, Phil has an undying passion for the business. He got his start by doing little jobs around the restaurant when he was six years old, comming around after school. He would do his homework, bus tables and wash dishes. He learned to count by counting pennies. He stood on milk crates to wash dishes. Loyal members of the staff became a second family to Phil, like Kathy, a server, a cook named Fred and a dishwasher named John, all of who stayed at the restaurant for more than 30 years. “They were like second grandparents. Or maybe I don’t want to say grandparents, but aunts and uncles to me,” he says, with reverence.
Eventually, Phil came to assume just about all positions in the restaurant, out in the front of the house and behind the line in the kitchen. He learned to prep cook at 15, earning his first paycheck in 1993. About a year prior to closing, he was back in the kitchen as a kitchen manager. Making soups was one of his favorite tasks, and he made his way through all the tried-and-true recipes, including the potato soup and their best-selling pasta vegetable beef soup, which was a constant on the menu.
You might wonder what a kid growing up in the restaurant business had for dinner. Hard-pressed to name one favorite dish, Phil breaks it down into phases. “I had a big burger phase, and a sandwich phase, but some days, nothing sounded good because you’re just around it all the time,” he says.
Phil says that once his parents decided to get out of the business, they quietly looked for offers. Early this year, Grand Avenue restaurants, the company that owns the Uptown Diner, Louisiana Café and Grandview Grill, came in and bought up Pearson’s, and along with it, Phil was kept on as a general manager.
Some interior changes were made, like putting up a wall with a mirror that replaced one of the old fireplaces and separating the dining rooms. Other than that, most of décor is the same except for some new artwork and a fresh coat of paint. “We still have that same retro orange tile ceiling,” says Phil.
The 50th Street Café kept the famous Swedish meatballs and a few other Pearson’s dishes, but it’s known for its traditional American breakfasts. “Our big deal is our hash browns,” says Phil. “We grind them fresh and cook them ourselves, so we’re not just getting in frozen potatoes.” The pineapple upside-down pancakes (owners’ favorite!) are also mighty tempting, along with a summery version of eggs benedict, the Caprese-style, with tomato, fresh mozzarella, pesto and hollandaise. Unlike Pearson’s, the restaurant is only open for breakfast and lunch, closing at 3 p.m. daily.
While maybe it’s not the same old Pearson’s they always knew and always loved, when longtime customers step inside the 50th Street Café, they certainly enjoy running into a recognizable face, someone who just about always has a minute to stop and chat. “We have a lot of the same customers, so I see a lot of familiar faces,” says Phil. “I’ve gotten to know a lot of customers over the years. There’s a group of guys that comes in every morning, and whenever I can, I come out and chat with them.”
&
50th Street Café, 3808 W. 50th St.; 612.927.4464
