Opening in 1929 at the center of the Elliot Park neighborhood, the Band Box Diner chain envisioned a clean, fast, and inexpensive alternative to dining out. The 14 eventual locations were all designed and assembled by the Butler Manufacturing Company, using pre-fabricated steel that could be molded into a single piece. The interiors were completed in the classic diner style with an open kitchen, a Formica counter and fixed stainless steel stools. According to a 1988 article in the Star Tribune newspaper, “Old timers remember” when the restaurant was “a drop-off for numbers money” and “ Kid Cann, the notorious gangster, used to sit at a table in back and play cards.” In the year 2000 the city designated the diner as historic, and in 2005 it was restored.