I had a sudden flashback this morning of a restaurant that I never actually went to, but passed nearly every weekend as a kid as the family drove from the Twin Cities metro area to a cabin my aunt owned in Minnesota’s northwoods. The restaurant was heavily advertised on the route by way of billboards and driving by the venue itself was usually enough to trigger a flurry of requests to stop for dinner.
While my parents now cater to my twin daughters’ every whims these days, they seemed nothing but tired whenever I asked if we could please eat there.
It was called “Dino’s Other World” and situated in a Victorian-era modest mansion outside of Monticello, Minnesota. Those two elements alone had my under-10 year old mind curious.
When I found out that they had classic monsters roaming around while diners ate food… well… that sealed the deal. I needed to eat there. I was enamored of all things “monster” already. I read everything I could get my hands on about Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, zombies, werewolves… you name it. Sure, I was a Star Wars kid, but my heart was even more so with the things that go bump in the night.
At the time, I think it might have been the only horror-themed restaurant in the region, perhaps the country.
Sadly, the building burned to the ground in 1981, before I could get my parents to cave in to my begging and pleading to be taken to a single meal there. They lucked out because I bet that if I got inside once, I would have probably continued to beg to go again, having tasted what it was like to dine with the creepy-ghoulies.
Our next stop: “Mad Monster Party”.
8 responses to “In an Other World…”
It’s sort of sad how parents seem to want to make up for what they got wrong with their kids when they get grandchildren. I’ve seen it before, although not having become a parent myself I never gave my parents the opportunity to do for my offspring what they never did for me; I’ve seen it with friends though. I’m not complaining, my parents did the best they could. It’s just a shame. 🙁
Some of it was economic in nature for my family in the late 70s and early 80s. I understood that even then. But the classic movie monsters weren’t important to my parents, that’s why we never had a chance of going. Even if we could afford it.
It’s funny. My parents encourage my daughters to like spooky things and goth subculture. They died of embarrassment when I started dressing like Dracula 🙂
It’s just weird to see how they’ve changed.
It’s even weirder to see how parents’ dislikes encourage their children to like those things, in a spirit of teenage rebellion. Reverse psychology is required at all times to steer thrirvkids in the direction they want them to go, but so many don’t either because they haven’t figured it out or because it’s exhausting. So glad I never had kids! 😂
Their, not thrirv.
I’ve discovered showing kids respect, certain levels of independence and trusting them to understand when you explain your reasons for making decisions for them goes a long way towards getting everyone on the same page. And, of course, opening up the door to discussion when I could be wrong never hurts either.
They, in turn, have all discovered that it’s hard to rebel when you are given agency from the get go.
But I do get strange looks when people discover I’m not a helicopter parent making every decision for my kids (or coddling to their every whim).
Sounds like a sensible line to take. I hate seeing kids coddled, but giving them agency, treating them like adults does help them to grow, I think. 🙂
Maybe. We’ll see 😂
Wow, what a place! I can see how it would capture the imagination of a child. I love hearing about places like this. I can see how you would flashback to visiting there, even if you hadn’t. Thank you for this gem, Michael!