Hennepin Avenue and 7th Street South. The Witt's Grocery still stands on Hennepin, and the fire escape still runs down the front like a lacquered lock of curled hair. If the windows were open, you might hear an echo of the old Monster that lived within.
According to one of their ads, Witt's was quite progressive: They were "the FIRST in the Northwest to cover meat counters with glass and later the FIRST to refrigerate the counters."
In 1919 they moved from 4th and Nicollet to their Hennepin home. The 1904 building was remodeled so it could be devoted entirely to groceries. The five-floor complex included a "candy kitchen" and "Dinty Moore Ham Smoke House." The "Self-Service Meat Counter" had fresh cuts tightly sealed by the "Monster," a mechanical "Sanitary Meat Wrapper." If you asked the clerks, they'd let you inspect it, anytime you wished. You wonder if anyone did.
Witt's closed in 1968. Other shops would cycle through the ground-floor retail space, and the name under the cornice slowly faded away. On the backside of the building, however, you can still see the Witt's logo, surprisingly sharp, not yet scoured by time or weather. Who knows? Perhaps the Monster lurks up there still.
