Photographs May 2006: Courtesy of Phil Edwards

With its 208 guest rooms and indoor all-weather recreation and swimming pool area, Bloomington was a large complex. Conveniently located near the Minneapolis airport and adjacent to Metropolitan Stadium, by lucky outcome the Mall of America was built upon the site of the stadium! However by 1992 when the mall was opened, the location had already given up its Howard Johnson name. Carrying on as a Days Inn the 30+ year-old complex appeared well preserved as recently as the middle 2000s.

Founded in 1987 Country Inns and Country Kitchen Restaurants were once both part of the Carlson Companies. In the early 1990s, Carlson and Howard Johnson International (an effort spearheaded by Henry Silverman later of Cendant infamy) entered into a strategic agreement that allowed each of its franchisees access to either brand. However the agreement was short lived and was not related to Bloomington's conversion. The Country Kitchen chain of Restaurants was sold in 1997 and is no longer related to Country Inns.