The Holy Mackerel

They are awesome!!! I had my tongue and navel piercing done here. It’s quite sterile and painless. Love them!

Today I got my first piercing not from Claire’s or a friend with a safety pin. I got my septum pierced. I’ve been to the Holy Mackerel twice before, once with a friend getting her piercing checked on, and a second time with my friend getting her septum pierced. My friend was pierced by Nick, who did a great job. The piercing looked great, and he was friendly too.
I was pierced by Verno. I showed up around 1:50, however Verno wasn’t coming in until about 2:30 — 2:45. I ended up getting into the room about 3:15. Once I was in the room, it was very quick. Not even 10 minutes I’d say. My piercing is doing well and was pierced straight (id had a fear it would be crooked as another one of my friends had gone to a different shop and was pierced crooked) Everything was great and super clean. He explained exactly how to clean it and aftercare and everything.
Also, the lady at the front desk was very helpful as well. I knew the general type of jewlery I wanted, but she came over and helped me pick out something that would work.
Overall, all my experiences have been great. I don’t think I’ll be getting any more piercings or tattoos (at least for a very long time) but if I do, I’ll be coming back here.

All my experiences, both tattoo and piercing, have been awesome. The shop is beautiful and spotless. The staff are friendly and the jewelry selection is the absolute best in the twin cities! Verno is a stellar human being and really knows his stuff. He takes the time to truly educate his clients and answer all your questions. This shop rocks!

Had my ear lobe ‘re-​pierced’ — the homemade piercing with the potato xxxx years ago was close to pulling through. Not being a tattoo person, I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew I did not want to go to the mall and get my ear pierced with a gun. The shop is very, very clean and I felt comfortable right away. Nick was my piercing professional. He explained everything in detail, helped me feel comfortable about the process and with a little pick it was over. Very detailed on how to care for my piercing. I found out they are one of two shops in MN that are approved by the APP — Association of Professional Piercers. Heck, I might even go back for a tattoo!

Took my GF here to have one of her ear piercing bars replaced. Not being into ink or piercing myself it’s not my normal place to visit. The staff was very friendly and very professional. They are also very sanitary. When any would come out to get a piercing part they always put on gloves. Everything I observed was done with proper sanitary conditions. (I used to work in the medical field and am a former Navy Corpsman.) If I was into ink or piercings I’d trust this place.

I was emailing an artist and we exchanged some ideas after he told me my original idea wasn’t his style. After the second email this guy just stopped emailing me without saying a word. Totally a joke. I personally will never recommend this place to anyone. My wife has also had bad experiences as well.

The place to go to. Currently working with Benny to finish my sleeve. The shop is clean and very professional. A must for tattoos

Went to Holy Mackerel after I lost a nose ring that I had pierced at a shop in Vegas. My hole closed up so had to get another piercing. Verno made me feel so comfortable, he made me laugh, he is professional, and he is a genius! I would recommend him and this shop to anyone looking for a great atmosphere, kind employees, and a rock star piercer! I 100% recommend this shop!

Brought my daughter here today for her 17^th birthday. She had her septum pierced, and because it was her birthday, they offered a 2^nd piercing from free, but we buy the jewelry. Deal!
This place is very very clean. Awards galore on the walls. Everything is disnfected, and used once, then disposed of. I think the guy used 4 or 5 pairs for gloves during our visit.
Nick was who pierced my daughter. He was very nice, put her at ease with his comedy, and did a good job explaining what’s about to happen so no surprises. He was knowledgable, and was sure we understood the aftercare.
Reception desk seemed like a clinic check in. Paper work was legit, they asked for all documents needed, i.e. I.d., birth certificate. Drivers license. As a parent I feel good knowing they take this seriously.
My daughter felt at ease with Hailey, the receptionist. She was personable, and helpful, and didn’t rush her. Anyone who has a teen girl knows how quickly they get agitated. My daughter didn’t while here, she made comments on how clean, the awards, the receptionist, the nice furniture, etc. «Mom, the last place wasn’t anything like this place».
So, all in all we like this place alot. I trust this place. With that being said, I do think the prices are a little high… but for cleanliness and piece of mind… I can do that. And I’d rather the artist not take a personal phone call on their cell phone during our visit, but it wasn’t the end for the world.
Yes. We will go back.

Benny is great! I started seeing him a few months ago after looking through his work online and having a few reccomendations from friends. We’ve been working on a sleeve of realistic-​full-​color flowers, and having 3 appointments done we’re about halfway there!
Benny is very easy to talk to, fun, friendly and amazingly talented!

This review is for Verno specifically since I have the most experience working with him in different locations than this one. I met Verno over 10 years ago when he pierced the nape of my neck. And yes, if you’re wondering, the piercing is *still* there (they sometimes have a tendency to reject and basically push itself out). He may come off as a little intimidating at first, considering all the piercings and tattoos he has, but trust and believe when I say he’s one of the nicest people you’ll meet. He genuinely cares about his clients and stands by his work 150%. There’s a reason everyone in town knows him: he’s knows what he’s doing. I’m so glad he was able to open his own store, he definitely deserves it!

I highly recommend Holy Mackerel. The jewelry selection was good quality and diverse. The prices are comparable to other shops.
I came in on a Saturday around 2p. Fortunately I had just missed a rush and was seen promptly by Nick. The front receptionist was friendly and helpful. Nick has a great smile, personality and work ethic. He was friendly and witty to boot!
Overall I was in and out within 25 minutes :)
Tip: you’re not able to tip via plastic so be sure to bring some paper

Solid tattoo shop. Walked in spontaneously to get a nice little piece done. Fair enough price for a walk in! Definitely enough cool stuff on the walls and ceilings to distract you through any session.

My neighborhood can be a little sketchy sometimes so I needed to do something drastic to up my street cred. That brought me to The Holy Mackerel right off West 7^th Street. They have a great reputation and I knew walking in there that one of the tattoo-​covered artists would be able to up my badass factor by permanently branding my arm with a long awaited… feather.
Okay, no street cred was gained. and badass factor remains the same (which is still relatively slightly more than a pinch above average). But, I am exuberantly happy with the work that Travis Lee did. Sam W. drew my tattoo for me and Travis did great at honoring the original piece. He chatted a bit during the session and listened well. I picked the right guy for the job and will go straight back to him for my future pieces.
While sitting in the chair, I had plenty of time to look around his station and the ones around us. All were very clean and tidy. The staff here are nice, and knowledgeable.
I recommend The Holy Mackerel for your body art, and Travis Lee to anyone who is looking for a great detail-​oriented artist.

I had an amazing experience getting pierced here. Verno made me feel so safe and comfortable. He walked me through the whole process, gave me all the information I needed and then some. So professional and caring. I could not have asked for a better experience. I’m sending all my friends here!

Get all of my piercings here and I am a very spectacle client of somebody putting a hole in my body. Verno is the best, I’ve gone with my friends to get their piercings elsewhere and they don’t even compare to Verno’s techniques and knowledge about piercings. Sort of pricey but worth it because if done right they can last a life time! also like that he is quick and gets right to the point, just what I need for a person as anxious as me. Got my: tragus, tongue web, and nose from him! All recommended.

I had a fantastic experience with Verno.
Though I have tattoos, something psychologically about a hole through my body psyched me out, so I was pretty nervous to come in for the nostril piercing I had been waiting to get for months. I decided to bite the bullet, and I looked for piercing places online and through Unilocal.Verno has excellent recommendations, and for good reason.
I went in in late January. He was very calming, conversational, and procedural– as contradictory as those descriptors may sound. He helped me breathe through the process, and I can honestly say the piercing hurt ¹⁄₁₀^th of what I thought it would. And with his excellent aftercare advice, I have had zero problems over the past two and a half months.
Cost may be slightly more expensive here. But you are paying for quality, and that’s not something you want to take lightly when it comes to any body modification. Thank you, Verno & The Holy Mackerel.

I just got my nose pierced a few days ago and Verno is great. He’s very skilled at what he does. Both him and the women working the desk were professional and made me feel at home. I highly recommend!

Did a walk in with a friend last night and had the best experience! I went in for a septum piercing. Hailey, the receptionist greeted us right away and was super sweet, helped me choose my jewelry, and got my friend and I set up in a beautiful, pristine room. We did wait for a pretty long time while Verno was finishing up talking with some other clients, but my experience was so great it does not even matter. Just know that he is a man who loves to take his time, so if you’re doing anything in a tight schedule, keep this in mind.
I went first while my friend watched. He was very precise, thoughtful, and gentle. He’s clearly done his fair share of piercing and dealing with scared clients (this was my first piercing). He walked me through the breathing and before I knew it, I had a cute little septum!
My friend then got her nipples pierced, and he was equally kind a thorough. He kept the mood lighthearted and relaxed the entire way through. We all talked about aftercare, which Verno takes very seriously, thank goodness.
It was getting pretty late, and as we were checking out, it came up that my friend and I had to take the bus back. Instead, Verno told us that Hayley would DRIVE US HOME. Yes, they are so sweet that they actually saved us from waiting in the cold and we listened to Fall Out Boy… so ya I will definitely come back if I ever need anything. I’m actually looking forward to my 10 week check-​up. Seriously earned the 5 stars. Great work, sanitation, mood, and building.

Verno took excellent care of me. Very thorough aftercare instructions. No pain!!! Love him!
P. S. Prepare for a wait. I waited close to two hour but he was so worth it.

Verno is excellent at everything he does.
I have gotten multiple piercings done at The Holy Mackerel, and I have always been pleased with the service here.

This place is dope. Verno is a king.
I’ve been having trouble with my nose piercing that I got over a year ago in Korea and knew something wasn’t right so I had get it checked out. Turns out, it’s been incredibly infected due to a botchy repiercing situation and a really cheap $ 3 hoop I got in Europe.
Verno removed it and gave me specific instructions on how to take care of it for the next 10 days. He also explained really well what happened to my nose and why it was happening. I was to follow his orders and go back in 10 days.
10 days later, my piercing hole can be saved, but no hoop (just a stud) for at least 6 months. Verno provided more information on what to do, and some fun analogies for what my nose was going through. The stud was much more pricey than I anticipated, but I know now that it’s worth paying more for legit jewelry then ending up with another infection.
This place is super clean and spacious and it was nice to see everything in sterilized packaging. Verno made me feel comfortable and was very knowledgeable about piercings and how to clean them and keep them safe. I can’t wait til it’s time to go back.

I recently finished up my last of six sessions for a full color, Japanese sleeve tattoo. The overall duration ended up being around 21 hours of work completed by Garrett Meyers. Before I begin reviewing my experience, I’d like to offer a brief, likely unnecessary defense of this studio. It appears that most of the negative reviews I’ve read are not from people who are unsatisfied with the quality of work received (which is not at all surprising), but rather, from people who claim to have received sub-​par customer service. I’d like to explain that these claims are falsely premised, and based on a lack of knowledge of what this studio represents.
I’ve read several negative reviews from individuals claiming to have walked into the Holy Mackerel for easy, routine procedures — whether it’s a jewelry exchange, piercing, flash tat, whatever. These people state that they wait for upwards of an hour or more to have said procedures completed. Even if all of these things are true, the conclusion does not follow that this is poor service. The staff at Holy Mackerel is comprised of high end, extremely talented artists, each with a highly specialized skill set. Because of this, they are all in very high demand. Most, if not all of the clients have put down large deposits and waited several months just to have a conversation with these artists, so you’ll just have to understand if these clients are prioritized. Analogously, you can obviously expect to walk into a McDonalds and have any available employee toss a cheeseburger into a bag for you, but would you expect to be able to walk into Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant unannounced and have Chef Ramsay drop everything to prepare you a filet mignon? Walking into the Holy Mackerel unannounced and expecting immediate service is extremely similar to the latter. There are specified walk in days, so at least call in advance to find out when they are. The point is, The Holy Mackerel and other shops that specialize in walk-​ins are entirely different entities and it’s not fair to compare them on any level. It’s high end restaurants to McDonalds; it’s
apples to oranges; it’s diamonds to gumballs.
I first contacted The Holy Mackerel in August after being referred to them by several people I knew. I started looking at online portfolios and decided that Garrett most closely aligned with the style I liked. Turns out I was super in to traditional Japanese tattoos. At the time, I didn’t even know that was the style I was digging (I had no tattoos). I had my consultation set up with Garrett for about three weeks later on September 19^th. I began compiling reference materials so that I could be prepared, but despite my attempts, it was painfully obvious at the time of my consult that I had no idea what I was doing. Effectively, I went to Garrett and said, «I want a sleeve, here’s some pictures I like, figure it out.» Those weren’t my exact words, but they may as well have been. Garrett was super cool about it all, and he worked with me over the next 20 minutes or so to get a solid design idea in place. I already thought that was pretty rad, considering I would have completely understood if I was told I needed to have a better idea of what I wanted first.
Fast forward to November 3^rd, the first of my six sessions. It had been almost a month and a half since my consultation; much of that time was spent searching the web and looking at similar designs, so by this time I’d seen hundreds if not thousands of pictures. I arrived at the shop quite a bit early, and when Garrett showed me the design, I was floored. It’s not the slightest exaggeration to say that out of all the designs and pictures I’d seen, my favorite one [by an absolute landslide] was sitting right in front of me and was about to be permanently inked on my arm. I was thrilled, overwhelmed, ecstatic, hell. Pick your favorite adjective.
I continued to go in for my scheduled appointments until the tattoo was finished this past Friday, which was, again, approximately 21 hours total. During these 21 hours, there wasn’t a single moment when I felt the slightest bit of discomfort with where I was, which is saying a lot coming from someone who can get anxious at times. The completed Japanese sleeve exceeds every expectation that I ever had when I originally went in. There are aspects of this tattoo that demonstrate literally every single thing you’d look for In a quality tattoo, and it absolutely proves Garrett’s passion for his work and his exemplary skill as an artist.
Each artist in this shop is of equally high caliber. There are some truly remarkable works of art coming out of this shop, regularly.
If you’re looking for a custom design made specifically for you, completed by an absolute professional, in a clean comfortable and relaxed atmosphere, well, let’s be real… Who doesn’t want that

I’ve been seeing Benny for a while now and I can honestly say he’s one of the most talented artists out there. He’s very detail oriented and is able to execute just about anything. He not only listens but is willing to give suggestions to make any idea really come to life. Every time I leave I am truly blown away by his work and am so proud to show it off any chance I get. I cannot put into words the level of skill and passion Benny has for what he does. Go see him, check out his portfolio, you won’t be disappointed.
The only con is that sometimes they run out of watermelon suckers… However, I take FULL responsibility for that

I just got my first tattoo from Travis, and he did an absolutely amazing job!!! Good dude and fantastic artist! All artists are great though, you can’t go wrong and I highly recommend Holy Mackerel!

Hands down the best shop in the Twin Cities. Verno is awesome! I always receive the most helpful and knowledgable advice for my piercings. He even has a degree in microbiology, so you get more than just the «soak this and don’t touch it» info and your questions are answered very thoroughly. Yes, the wait times can be long, and there’s a good reason for that. When you’re stabbing people with needles, it’s necessary to take the time to inform them on the process and aftercare rather than rushing them out for the convenience of the next customer. If there’s a wait, tough it out! It’s worth it.

First of all, this negative review is NOT for shop quality. The shop was very clean, and the staff extremely knowledgable. However, a shop in 5-​star physical condition does NOT excuse mistreatment of customers.
I had an earring with a stuck screw that I needed help taking out. I had no intentions of buying jewelry or piercing anything, so because I understand this is a business, I called ahead to see if a piercer would be willing to just help me unscrew my jewelry. I was assured this was not a problem.
I get to the shop, and am sent to a back room to wait for the piercer. While back there, I was fiddling with the earring that was stuck, and somehow managed to get it open on my own. Problem solved! I officially had no reason to be there. I went to leave and was stopped by the piercer. After telling him I was all good now, he kept saying he wanted to take a look, even though I repeatedly said I didn’t need anything further.
So I get sent back to the room, where he comes and criticizes the jewelry in ALL of my piercings, then tells me he has to replace the earring I just took out. I told him I brought my own jewelry, which was piercing-​grade quality, and the hole was 3 years old. He tells me my earring isn’t good enough. So we get a new earring, he puts it in my ear, and then charges me $ 65 for this new earring that I didn’t even want, and a problem that I solved myself.
I understand that the jewelry sold to me is supposed to be high quality. But it was money spent that I absolutely could not afford. My own jewelry that I wanted to replace with came from a professional piercer — not Claire’s — and had been in my ear for 3 years until about a month ago, so why fix what isn’t broken? I also understand that no one can «make» me buy anything. But as my first time in a new shop, I clearly stated more than once that I didn’t want a replacement, but he would not let up. A customer should not have to scream and stomp her feet in order to have her opinions acknowledged. Never once was I asked, only told.
Oh, and on top of all of this, the piercer asked me where I worked and then sat and criticized the company I work for, too.
Cutting my losses with the money paid yesterday — I will NEVER return to this shop. I have 8 tattoos and 12 piercings all from multiple shops before I moved to the Twin Cities and I have never experienced such condescending treatment. I understand that you are very smart about piercings, but do NOT criticize me for not wanting to empty my wallet for the biggest and best when I made it clear that it was not even the reason I came in the first place.

Customer service is terrible. I came in to change out a piercing and it took them an hour to see me for a 2 minute change out. Beautiful jewelry, but I felt like they didn’t care that I was waiting.

My first time in this shop was this month. I liked the atmosphere and decorations, the two staff members that had been at the front desk were very professional and friendly, all the staff was friendly, I was surprised by how many staff members talked to me. I noted that all the tools and instruments had been sterilized and were in sealed packaging. Aseptic technique was followed through out my session.
I know we had bad weather, but I was freezing for my whole session, which was at least 3 hours.
I followed the artist that has done all my tattoos to this shop, and he now relocated again. I will not be returning to this shop, but I would recommended it to anyone.

I came into Holy Mackerel for some ear piercings (my SECOND ear piercing. Oooo bad ass, I know. I’m building up to more exotic things like tattoos, give me time!). Anyway, I won’t lie. Having only been to Claire’s for piercings I was a little intimidated to go to a tattoo parlor but when I heard how much more sanitary a place like this is I decided to brave it. I’m so glad I did. The staff here was very friendly, made me feel comfortable, welcome, and no one made me feel like a wimp for only wanting a boring ol’ ear lobe piercing.
I purchased a pair of the earrings they sell there, they have really beautiful jewelry selection, and then went into a room with Elby to get the actual piercing done. Elby was great. He explained the process thoroughly and the piercing itself was over before I knew it. If anyone out there is trying to decide where to get a piercing, do it here. I got an infection from Claire’s, even though I followed all of their instructions, and this was just as fast and it hurt less.
I feel really stupid for being intimidated by a tattoo parlor before. I enjoyed my experience at here and when I get up the nerve for my first tattoo I know where I’ll be going. (spoiler: it’s Holy Mackerel).