The Last Typewriter Restorer in the Twin Cities, MN

by doitinnorth | Nov 3, 2024 | people/passions

Calvary Cemetery is probably the foremost landmark on Front Avenue between Lexington Parkway and Dale Street. Calvary, established in 1856, is the oldest Catholic cemetery in the Twin Cities. Half Time Rec, a pub and bar with a basement bocce ball court, is another place of note. The mile-long span of Front Avenue is lined with residential properties and a smattering of small businesses.

Spectrum Business Systems, 957 Front Avenue

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One of those establishments is Spectrum Business Systems, at the northwest corner of Front and Kilburn Street. The building’s utilitarian exterior divulges little of the fascinating contraptions a visitor will find within.

Stepping through the threshold is like entering a time warp of sorts — back to a 1940s-era office, a mid-20th century typing pool or a museum of obsolete office equipment.

Typewriters from long-defunct brands — Fox, Olympia, Oliver and Hermes, of myriad designs and ages, spanning more than 100 years — rest on shelves and countertops. Adding machines, forerunners of the calculator, are scattered throughout. Then there are the outliers, like a time punch clock and a pinball machine. Some modern technology is around but is overwhelmed by the museum pieces.

Tori Leksen and Ryan Andrews are the co-owners of Spectrum Business Systems, as well as partners outside of work. Spectrum primarily handles IT needs for small businesses. Regular clients include about 20 small animal hospitals, an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers local and an East Side American Legion Post.

Ryan’s responsibilities range from networking, to software and hardware. Tori is in charge of what she calls the “front-end” work: “intake of the typewriters, printers, computers and laptops. I do all of our billing. I also am in charge of answering the phone.”

The nature of Spectrum’s clients dictates that Ryan often works nights and weekends. “The IT work has to be done after hours when they close because they can’t turn their computers off or [have] their internet down. So there is a lot of that. But, you know, it comes with the territory.”

A couple of walk-in customers stop in per day on average, some with computers and others with typewriters, said Ryan. “It’s actually surprising how much street traffic or foot traffic we get, especially considering we’re not in a downtown area. We’re a little bit off the beaten path.”

Happenstance and a friend led Ryan to Spectrum in 2019. While attending Dunwoody College of Technology in Minneapolis, Ryan became friends with the son of Spectrum’s then-owner, Dave Hintze. One day his friend mentioned to Ryan that his dad was looking for help at Spectrum. Ryan said he thought, “’OK, cool. I’ll come work on computers and networking.’”

When Ryan began working at Spectrum he still believed the company exclusively provided IT services. “He [Dave] didn’t inform me, or I never asked if ‘you fix typewriters.’” Ryan considered the machines in the lobby nothing more than an exhibit. “I just thought it was a little setup displaying them. ‘No, no,’ Dave explained to Ryan, ‘We repair them and we’re one of the last remaining [typewriter repair businesses] here in Minnesota.’” (Now Spectrum is one of just two shops in the state that revive broken typewriters.)

In 2019, Dave would average at most one typewriter repair a month, but it’s become a notable part of Spectrum’s business. “The typewriter side has definitely exploded.” When we talked, about 30 machines lined the shelves ready for repair. “Some of them,” Ryan said, “I can get them in and out in half an hour, 45 minutes, but sometimes I’m sitting at them for a couple hours.”

The most challenging typewriters for Ryan to restore are electric IBM Selectric models, which were primarily used by businesses. ”It’s such a complicated machine. There is not a single computer board in it, yet you hit one key and it rotates that ball and it types it in the exact key you need the exact time, every single time, and it types as fast as you do.” He added, “It is just minor adjustments that I still haven’t quite mastered.”

For the Selectrics, Ryan’s former boss still lends a hand. “Luckily the original owner, Dave, he still comes in once or twice a week to help facilitate those repairs where I’m banging my head against this. He comes and he is like, ‘You’ve just got to adjust this, this, this.’ And walks away 10 minutes later and it’s like I’ve been fighting with this for weeks.“

Finding replacement parts for typewriters that range in age from 50 to more than 100 years old can be problematic. Ryan pulls many bits from a stash of unrepairable machines in the back room. But often he’ll shop at hardware or auto parts stores and modify the components.

The paper feed roller is one part for which he’s had to come up with a modern-day substitute. “I actually found that the hose line for wiper blade sprayers actually works perfect. It’s the right size, it’s the right softness and stiffness, and it just works perfect.”

Among collectors and other aficionados, manual typewriters are the most popular by far. “The manuals, they have a little bit of a style to them. They’re not like a big beige box so a lot of people like to collect those for the pretty colors and the shapes.”

Ryan barely paused when asked about his preferred typewriter. “My favorite to use is probably the Hermes 3000,” he said. “They’re actually a Swedish-made typewriter. And they just type a little nicer than most of the manuals. They just have a smooth transition and flow to them.”

Tori is also partial to the same typewriter. “I like the Hermes 3000 because they come in the prettiest little aqua color,” she said, laughing. She went on to say, “My second favorite would be the Oliver ’cause those are the oldest ones we have in here. And they type so unique ’cause they actually type down from the top.”

Ryan’s discovered a couple of reasons that people shun computers for the click-clack of typewriters. “We have artists who use them for making art with the typewriter. They’ll take an old manual [typewriter] and actually type in spaces over and over again to give that depth of field to make portraits and pictures.”

Lovers of these mechanical wonders are not just Baby Boomers who grew up using them. Another motivation behind the resurgence is ancestry, he explained. “It’s exploded to people who’ve taken interest in not only typewriters but their family history. ‘This is my great-grandpa’s typewriter, or this has been in my family for generations.’”

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Then Tori shared a story about a young woman who brought a typewriter to Spectrum. “She came all the way up from Nebraska; brought her great-grandfather’s typewriter up here. She wanted to restore it to the original state and get it up and working so that she could actually use it on a day-to-day basis. She made that journey all the way up here to drop it off and all the way up here to pick it up again. And to see the joy it brought her.”

Our conversation finished with Tori’s effusive praise for being a co-owner of Spectrum Business Systems. “It’s the most enjoyable job I’ve ever had because every customer who walks in, they’ve got their own story, their own personality, and they’re just some of the kindest people you’ll ever meet. So you get to learn a little bit more about everything each and every day and the history behind their typewriters, and about what they use them for, so that’s wonderful.”

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By Wolfie Browender

Editor’s Note: A version of this story originally appeared in Saint Paul By Bike on July 24th, 2024 and is reprinted with permission.

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