About
A Little History of Forepaugh's Mansion
Forepaugh’s has long been a pillar in the Twin Cities’ dining scene, welcoming guests since the mansion’s construction in 1870. The story begins with Joseph Forepaugh, who arrived in Saint Paul in 1858 on a riverboat, fresh from an apprenticeship at a wholesale imported dry goods firm in Philadelphia. With the help of a partner, he founded his own dry goods firm, which soon became one of the largest in the Upper Midwest. By 1864, the business was generating sales of half a million dollars a year, and in 1865, it was renamed J. L. Forepaugh and Company.
At the age of 36, Joseph Forepaugh invested a considerable sum of $10,000 to build the first stage of the mansion in 1870. His business success allowed him to retire after just ten years, and he spent a year abroad in Paris with his wife, Mary, and their five children. Before their departure, Joseph auctioned off their fine imported furnishings and sold the house in 1886 to avoid the hassle of storage.
The new owner, General John Henry Hammond, a retired Civil War veteran and General Sherman’s Chief of Staff, took over the mansion. However, by the late 1880s, the Irvine Park area began to decline as electric streetcars made Summit Avenue more accessible and desirable.When the Forepaugh family returned from Paris, they purchased a new home at 302 Summit Avenue in 1889, where they lived until Joseph’s death in 1892 at the age of 58.
Unfortunately, the mansion fell into disrepair, like many grand homes in the area, and became a boarding house. In 1973, the St. Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority shut it down. A private company bought the mansion and reopened it as a restaurant in 1976.
Bruce’s company, now over 40 years old, is a leader in the food service industry, serving 350,000 meals daily. Taher Inc. is the largest private company of its kind in the country, providing chef- prepared meals from scratch at over 300 sites across 25 states, including schools, colleges, universities, corporate cafeterias, catering services, retail and convenience storesIn 2007, Bruce Taher had the opportunity to bring his fine dining vision to life by renovating the mansion into a masterpiece that was called ‘sumptuous’ by the Star Tribune review in 2013. The popular restaurant operated until 2019, then closed due to Covid. It seemed as Forepaugh’s was closed for good.
For several years, this once pristine mansion became a place for people to lurk- whether to get warm or tell ghost stories. In 2022, Bruce felt the pull of the history around him and decided it was time to restore Forepaugh’s to its former glory and once again open its doors for the community to come together and share a meal.
For two years, extensive renovation work took place, and Forepaugh’s once again became a premier dining destination in 2024, bringing people together through food.
