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Green Lantern Cafe & Bar's new owner makes debut during Hardwick's Jubilee Days

Lead Summary
By
Mavis Fodness

Hardwick’s Jubilee Days annual celebration brings people together for food, fun and fellowship.
New Green Lantern Café and Bar owner Jens “J.R.” Jensen hopes to bring that same atmosphere to Hardwick year-round.
“Jubilee Days is my big introduction,” he said.
Since taking over the business April 1 from Carrie Van Dyke and Ryan Bullerman, Jensen has been busy learning how to operate his own business and planning for this weekend.
“We are trying to liven things up here,” Jensen said. “Bring the old Lantern back.”
That includes reopening the steakhouse, an event Jensen is hoping to accomplish this fall.
His previous employment with Four-Way Insulation is helping him understand and care for the century-old building that included fixing the steakhouse’s roof.
Becoming a business owner at age 31 is fulfilling a dream for the Luverne High School graduate.
“Ever since I was a kid I thought it would be cool,” Jensen said.
His dream didn’t involve just operating any business, but one that appeals to anyone of any age at any time.
The café currently opens at 10 a.m., but Jensen plans to open earlier to pull drivers on Highway 75 off the road for breakfast.
The breakfast and noon menus will continue to feature the home-cooked meals and burgers made popular by Van Wyhe and Bullerman through two decades of ownership.
The bar opens at 3 p.m. and stays open for patrons until 2 a.m.
Jensen has constructed a stage on the west side of the building for small bands, and he has replaced the volleyball net for bar patrons to enjoy.
Three street dances are also planned for this year with the first conducted Saturday night during Jubilee Days.
Once opened, the steakhouse (located in the back of the café) will serve evening meals for those who want a quiet place to dine.
“I can see my vision starting to take shape,” Jensen said. “We pretty much have it that everybody can come.”
For the past two months he has been working with his staff to make changes that make sense and make their jobs easier.
The first change was to reconfigure customer seating in the café for a more open arrangement, and the salad bar has been moved between the two seating areas for easier access.
“I am quickly finding out you can’t do everything right now,” he said. “It will take time.”
Unfinished for this weekend’s Jubilee Days is work to the building’s entrance, that will become handicap-accessible, and the removal of the garage in back of the building for more patron parking.
“Good food, good workers, good location. I am just tweaking things,” Jensen said.
The bar business is somewhat in his blood, as he grew up in Luverne.
His mom, Cherie, worked at the former VFW on Highway 75, continuing to work there when it reopened as Sharkee’s Bar.
Before a fire closed the business in 2014, his mom had worked in the bar business for 35 years, four years before Jensen was born. He, himself, worked at Sharkee’s for seven years.
Jensen likens his business approach to throwing a party every weekend. “Everybody knows about our food. Now we also have to show them a good time,” he said.
 
Activities scheduled
for Jubilee Days
Hardwick’s Jubilee Days begins Friday night and goes through Sunday. The list of planned activities include:
Friday, June 26 — Fast pitch softball game at 8 p.m.
Saturday, June 27 — Co-ed softball tournament starts at 9 a.m. The community meal will be served from 5 to 8 p.m. with music by Ron and Jane Cote. Face-painting and tattoos will be from 5 until 7 p.m. when the parade starts. Following the parade will be the pedal tractor pull for children ages 4 to 11. The street dance will be from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Sunday, June 28 — Outdoor community worship service at 10:30 a.m. in the Zion Lutheran Church parking lot.

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