Kloss Tavern
Patrons fondly remembered “Ma’s” magic touch
🏡 Who Was “Ma” Kloss?
Annie “Ma” Kloss rose to local stardom after her husband passed away and Prohibition ended in 1933. She turned her own front yard into Kloss Tavern—a welcoming center for the community.
A shrewd and warm-hearted entrepreneur, she sustained her business through the Great Depression, offering hearty home-cooked meals from her garden and never turning away a hungry soul.
A Centerpiece of Community Life
Generosity defined her: Her tavern became a go-to place during hard times, known for fresh breads, steaming soups, and a comforting sense of belonging.
After WWII, each year on Ma Kloss’s birthday, she hosted a community feast featuring baked beans, homemade pickles, potato and egg salads, plus ham and roast beef sandwiches—an annual celebration lasting until shortly before her death in 1974.
Culinary Roots & Legacy
Annie’s cooking talents were honed during her early married life, running a boarding house where she fed 25–50 men daily, on top of raising six children.
Patrons fondly remembered “Ma’s” magic touch—she never used formal recipes, yet everything turned out delicious.
Her legacy lives on through the stories and photos preserved by the Lake Minnetonka Historical Society.
Wider Historical Context
Minnetonka Beach became a bustling resort area with the opening of the grand Hotel Lafayette in 1882 by railroad magnate James J. Hill.
Over time, as large hotels faded—Hotel Lafayette itself burned in 1897—the town evolved into a tight-knit community. Tales like Ma Kloss's reflect this grassroots, intimate spirit, carrying forward a sense of shared life around the lake
Bottom Line
Annie “Ma” Kloss wasn’t just a tavern owner—she was the heart of Minnetonka Beach from the Depression through the mid‑20th century. Her open-door spirit, hearty homemade food, and birthday feasts shaped her tavern into a communal centerpiece. Her legacy, now preserved in local archives and oral histories, reminds us how individual warmth can leave an enduring mark on a place.