History - Green Mill has served great pizza & food for thirty years in the Midwest

A Rich and Delicious History

The history of the Green Mill begins with the oldest licensed pub in St. Paul, the Green Mill Inn, located at the corner of Grand and Hamline Avenues in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Started by Myron Roth, the Green Mill Inn began as a soda fountain in the early 1930's and has continued as a thriving neighborhood pub since that time. The name Green Mill is a derivation of the Dutch Mill, the Roth family's other restaurant at the time. "Green" was added to distinguish it from the other enterprise. The original menu featured Chow Mein for .40¢ and Lobster for .65¢.

In 1975, Chris Bangs, Larry Cardoni, and David Bicanich purchased the Green Mill. Within a year, armed with Cardoni's family recipes, plus some impromptu food science performed by dissecting the deep-dish carry-out pizzas of 30 Chicago pizzerias, the group introduced its now famous Chicago-Style deep dish pizza. In the spring of 1977, the "Entertainer" (later known as the "Twin Cities Reader") published its first annual Pizza Poll naming the Green Mill as the winner. Lines began to form down the block and the company expanded into a full-service restaurant, acquiring adjacent businesses, to meet the demand.

In 1979, the Green Mill Too was born on Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis' trendy Uptown area. The Too continues to grow and is still the company's highest volume restaurant. Larry Cardoni can still be found cooking pizzas in the kitchen here on Friday nights.

In 1990, Chris Bangs teamed up with Todd King and formed Green Mill's franchising company. Green Mill has expanded to over twenty eight locations throughout the Midwest. Today, the Green Mills are widely known as "Minnesota's Most Awarded Pizza" in the Twin Cities, garnering over 30 awards from food critics of such publications as the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Twin Cities Reader and Mpls.St.Paul Magazine.

Over twenty eight locations and thirty years of satisfied customers.

Now with over twenty eight Green Mill Restaurant & Bar locations throughout the Midwest, Green Mill has grown to be one of the most popular neighborhood restaurants and bars in the communities they serve, anchored by a long tradition of award-winning pizza.