Remembering North Loop Visionary John Rimarcik
From his pride and joy, The Monte Carlo, to the numerous historic buildings he bought and transformed (think Runyon’s, Edwards, Cobble, Public Domain, D.NOLO, North Loop Wine & Spirits and many more), few people did more for the evolution of the North Loop than John Rimarcik.
He passed away on December 11th after a battle with brain cancer.
“We are so grateful to have had John Rimarcik in our neighborhood,” said North Loop Neighborhood Association president Diane Merrifield. “He has contributed so much to everything we have become. He believed in the neighborhood and we owe him a lot.”
“If you called him a developer, he did not like that,” said his friend Dana Swindler, co-owner of MartinPatrick3. “He was a restaurateur. I would introduce him to people as, ‘this is John, he’s a developer and real estate guy.’ And he’d be like, ‘no I’m not, I’m a restaurateur.’ Big distinction there in his mind. He loved the restaurant business.”
Despite being such a big player in the neighborhood’s development, Rimarcik liked to keep a low public profile.
“He helped people anonymously, he was very generous,” said city council member Michael Rainville. “He was a very gracious man in helping new businesses get started, such as Cobble and D.NOLO. He was always interested in building community.”
Rimarcik also owned well-known properties in other parts of downtown Minneapolis as well as the St. Anthony Main and Dinkytown areas.
“My opinion is that John was like the salt of the earth, self-made businessman who you either loved or didn’t like him at all. And I loved him,” said Swindler. “He had a totally dry sense of humor and he was very direct. A lot of people didn’t like that but I loved it because you knew right where you stood.”
A funeral service is being planned for 11 am, December 21st at the Basilica of St. Mary, with visitation starting at 9:30. John Rimarcik was 84 years old.
By Mike Binkley, North Loop volunteer