Just minutes from downtown St. Paul, the Greater East Side neighborhood provides the convenience of being close to a metropolitan city while still offering the comforts of a suburban community. And it only takes a single drive down White Bear Avenue to quickly discover why. Serving as the “main street” of the neighborhood, White Bear Avenue is the epicenter of Greater East side, offering all of the essential community traits – here you’ll find local shops and restaurants as well as libraries, medical offices, community centers, schools and homes.
One vital business on White Bear Ave. is the El Quetzal Market, the perfect place for those looking to make an authentic Mexican meal. And if cooking isn’t on the agenda, the next-door Tio Santiago Bakery offers customers a wide array of colorful and mouthwatering baked goods waiting to be devoured.
Greater East Side St. Paul offers a great community for families looking for a strong and varied school system. With seven public schools, two charter schools and two private schools, there’s certainly no shortage of options for parents when it comes to finding a nearby school in the community.
The Dari-ette Drive-In on Minnehaha Avenue offers visitors the rare experience of enjoying authentic Italian food without ever having to set foot outside the car you drove up in. The 1950s style diner has been serving the neighborhood for 60 years, offering a nostalgic look into the past while offering a menu section of Italian eats you wouldn’t normally expect to find at a drive-in. While already a hit with the locals, Dari-ette Drive-In has recently gotten some national attention when it was named one of the 12 best drive-in restaurants in the country by digital lifestyle magazine, Thrillist National.
Another acclaimed destination for anyone looking to find a menu item uniquely local is The Juicy Lucy at the 5-8 Club. An absolute rite of passage for any hamburger connoisseur, this cheese-infused creation can be found in all its glory at the 5-8 Club in the southeast corner of Greater East Side St. Paul. Recently, the restaurant’s nearby Minneapolis location was even ranked as #1 on the Travel Channel’s Chowdown Countdown. (But we think the “Jucy Lucy” at Matt’s Bar is also great, in case anyone felt like we were taking sides here).
When not dining out, residents can often be found fishing off the pier on the regularly stocked Beaver Lake or walking on the nearby paths. The area also features a nearby park, grills and areas to play volleyball and baseball with a serene backdrop of the lake.
The majority of homes in Greater East Side St. Paul were built after 1940 and are moderately priced, mid-sized and single-family units, making the homes ideal for the many younger families in the area. While many parts of the Greater East Side are newer than much of St. Paul, there are a few historic homes that have been kept well maintained and give the neighborhood of Greater East Side St. Paul a distinct blend of history and modernism.
