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Minnesota Statues (page 3)

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Beach Guy
Hampton, MN
This Beach Guy stands in front of Eilen & Sons Trucking. He holds a rope that is connected to an old dump truck. These photos are from 2008. Sometime after 2016, the statue was repainted. He now wears purple shorts with the Minnesota Vikings logo. Does anyone know where this statue came from originally? For other Beach Guy statues, see these in Unger, WV and Livingston, IL. [map]

Happy Chef
Mankato, MN
The Happy Chef was promoted as the "world's largest talking chef". He is the icon for the Happy Chef restaurant chain which was founded in 1963. At one time, Happy Chef had 56 locations in seven states but there are only a few restaurants left now. There were about a dozen of these 18-foot-tall fiberglass Chefs produced from the late 1960s until the early 1980s. When you pushed the button on his base, the Chef told jokes. The company destroyed the Chef statues as their restaurants closed so that they were not used "inappropriately". However, a few escaped and were repurposed anyway (see below).

The Happy Chef statue in Mankato is the only one left at their restaurants. It was the first location in the chain and this was the first statue. It was produced by Sculptured Advertising of Sparta, WI in 1968. In 2018, the statue's voicebox was restored. Instead of pushing the button, the sound is motion-activated. [map]

former Happy Chef
Princeton, MN
This Happy Chef statue is the only other statue that I know that still holds a spoon. The Chef is accompanied by a fishing snowman statue. They are installed in front of A-Z Restaurant Equipment Co. This Happy Chef statue came from a Happy Chef restaurant in Cherokee, IA. [map]

former Happy Chef
Wyoming, MN
This former Happy Chef is located at the Linwood Country Store. This statue's spoon has been swapped for a pizza. It was adapted and installed here in the early 2000s for Linwood Pizza. The pizzeria moved but the store that is there now continues to sell pizza and has kept the statue. By 2023, the pizza was gone and the Chef's vest had been painted like an American flag. [map]

Another Happy Chef in Ryan, IA has been transformed into an umpire while one in McPherson, KS is now a chimney sweep. One was repurposed as a clown somewhere but it must be gone now.

More Minnesota:
Paul Bunyans (Baxter & Brainerd)
Paul Bunyans (Bemidji)
Linus (Bemidji)
Logger (Bigfork) [map]
Bob Dylan (Hibbing)
Frankenstein (Janesville) [gone]
Lumberjack (Littlefork)
Big Honza (Montgomery)
Sphinx (Pequot Lakes) [gone]
Gnome (Peterson)
Linus (Sleepy Eye)
Lumberjack (Winton) [map]
Paul Bunyans (various cities)

Minnesota
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