Daily meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon and Alateen
A safe and comfortable place for recovery
For more than 20 years a large group of alcoholics and their families from the northeast suburbs of the Twin Cities were attending the Minneapolis club at 2218 1st Ave South. This was a commute of 10 to 20 miles. In the 1950's and 1960's several of these members got together and held meetings in Columbia Heights and Fridley at private residences and churches. As these groups grew there became a need for a common place to meet and have fellowship. They formed a commitee to procure a location for the first clubhouse. These 20 to 30 people were the beginnings of the Fridley Alano Society of the Northeast Suburbs. By-laws were written and the Fridley Alano Society was incorporated as a not for profit business. Our only charter was, and is, to provide a safe and comfortable place for Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon groups to meet. They found a location in the center of the northern suburbs and within their tiny budget.
The first clubhouse of the newly formed Fridley Alano Society became the basement of a stip mall. The Moon Plaza basement was perfect for a beginning. It was large enough to hold several meetings on the same night and the rent was resonable for the amount of space required. Most of our current "old timers" spent their first sober days and nights meeting, serving coffee and cleaning up at the Moon Plaza. Despite the rather meager facilities the Fridley Alano Society grew tremendously during these years as the suburbs population exploded during this time.
By the late 1980's the active membership was nearly 200 people with an equal number of non-member attendees. Again, we had a need. We needed much more space! By this time our membership was large enough to stop renting a basement. A building committee was formed.
The reputation that "The Fridley Club" was the place to go for alcoholics had been spreading through-out the AA community for years by this time. We needed room to grow! Three vacant commercial plots were purchased at 5925, 5965, and 5985 University Avenue NE only a few blocks south of Moon Plaza. Primarily by members and volunteers, a large two story building was constructed at 5925 and a large parking area in the remaining lots. The lot at 5985 was later sold and a commercial site was built.
The "old-timers" were right, of-course. Our membership continued to expand to nearly 300 members. The reputation in the AA community grew too. The number of meetings at this facility was over 50 per week. A full commercial kitchen was added. The reputation that our clubs doors are open all day, everyday made this club much more than a place for meetings. We were now a full community of friends and family with fellowship events, dances, cook-outs, holiday meals, etc.
In late 2008 we were informed by a City of Fridley official that the city wished to redevelop the area from 57th to 61st Avenues. An offer to purchase our property was made by the city. A membership meeting was held with much discussion, pro and con. The arguement that the city would eventually take the land in anycase seemed to be almost universally accepted. We voted to sell this property with the condition that we could remain on the property until a new facility could be found and made ready. Again a building committee was formed.
Someone was truly looking out for us. The city's offer was quite resonable. Economic times were hard and realestate prices were depressed. The building commitee was able to find a property and building at 6279 University Avenue NE. There were many hidden problems that we needed to resolve. Now we had tennants who had a lease to most of the upper floor of our soon to be club. Unexpected property taxes had to be paid since we were now "landlords". The building commitee desolved and the members and elected leaders took the active roll of getting the building ready. Through the winter, spring and summer we worked to prepare our new clubhouse and say our good-byes to our old club.
Thanks to many hundreds of hours of hard work by volunteers and contractors we held our first meetings in our new facilty in September of 2009. We now have enough room to grow for the NEXT 20 years! This will happen provided we remember our primary purpose is to provide a safe and comfortable place for Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon groups to meet.