Cabbage and Carrot Slaw from Epiphany Dining Hall at the Minnesota State Fair

Since the early years of the 20th century, church dining halls have been a staple for tasty home cooking at the Minnesota State Fair. Over the years, they proved to be a nice, inexpensive place to sit down with friends and family to enjoy a wholesome meal. However, as the fair grew and more attractions were added, food easily eaten while strolling around the grounds became increasingly popular. 

Church dining halls at the fair peaked in the 1950s when there were 26 to choose from, and just about every Christian denomination was represented. Today, only two of these cafeteria-style relics remain — Hamline Church Dining Hall and Salem Lutheran Church Dining Hall. 

The Epiphany Dining Hall, later called the Epiphany Diner, opened on the first day of the fair in 1956. The diner was an excellent way for the church to raise money to support programs and education, and even fund a new church building in Coon Rapids. 

Many of the dining halls served similar fare: baked ham, turkey, and meatloaf dinners with all the fixings, barbecue ribs, cole slaw, potato salad, hearty breakfasts, and, of course, homemade pie. The Epiphany Dining Hall stood out from the crowd when it began offering ostrich burgers in 1996.

In its heyday in the 1990s, the Epiphany Dining Hall was not just a place for meals, but a popular gathering place at the fair. The diner served over 30,000 meals during the best 12 days of the summer, with more than 70 volunteers each day cooking, cleaning, serving, and welcoming fair-goers from across the state into the diner.

A fire in 1990 decimated the old church diner, but they renovated their space on Underwood between Carnes and Judson for $30,000. Although they were able to reopen, the financial hit was long-lasting and, in hindsight, was the beginning of the end for the beloved dining hall. 

As the popularity of full meals at the fair dissipated and the everything-on-a-stick trend gained momentum, the Epiphany Dining Hall just couldn’t overcome the financial hit from the fire. The dwindling popularity of sit-down eateries at the fair meant fewer customers, which translated into lower profits throughout the early 2000s. 

After a remarkable 45-year run, the difficult decision was made for the 2011 fair season to be the last for the old dining hall. People from all over the Midwest came by for one last meal that year, sharing memories from past state fairs, saying goodbye to longtime volunteers, and celebrating the community spirit the dining hall provided at the state fair.