Biz Buzz: Shop with Irish lilt opens in Pequot Lakes
With St. Patrick's Day bringing the Irish out in many Americans this week, a renovated shop in Pequot Lakes has just the inventory to keep that theme going all year long.
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The Celtic Cottage, with gifts and apparel, opened last month between the Jack Pine Center and Lime Greenery along Main Street. Owner Susan McGuire-Hardy previously operated the Wildwood Gifts and Apparel with a partner at the site. The partnership was dissolved at the end of 2009 and McGuire-Hardy decided to go in a new direction.
Work continues on the Oasis renovation, along Highway 371 in Pequot Lakes, where the Dairy Queen Chill and Grill is being added to the site. Rickard & Sons Concrete, Pequot Lakes, and Kuepers were working on the project last week with the walls taking shape for the building. Brainerd Dispatch/Renee Richardson
Of Irish ancestry, McGuire-Hardy saw an opportunity to import goods for a fresh beginning and retain the most popular lines from her old shop. The Celtic Cottage includes Irish foods and teas, even bags of the "Auld Sod" are available for handfuls of Irish dirt. Or there are bags of shamrock seeds. Items include embroidered towels, wall art with Irish sayings and blessings, even a decorative lamp embellished with shamrocks. Tote bags, T-shirts, sweatshirts, polo shirts, magnets and books all have Celtic symbols - such as friendship knots - and Irish themes. But the store isn't limited to all things Irish. There are items from Scotland and Wales along with lake country offerings.
The shop includes sandals made from recycled tires and shirts and sweatshirts with lakes area names like the Whitefish Chain and Minnesota lake country. McGuire-Hardy said she is adding men's apparel.
Pizza Ranch details regarding a potential location in Baxter may be more substantial in a month's time. In 2008, the Carrs who own the Little Falls Pizza Ranch, announced they planned to expand to the Brainerd area and had actually secured the franchise rights here before going to Little Falls.
But Thursday owner Trent Carr said the talk about locating near the Hawthorn Inn is still in the preliminary stages with approval from the city of Baxter an early step.
"We're still in the beginning stages," Carr said. "We've got some things in the works, but we're still not there yet. But we still are a long ways from being able to say that it is going to happen."
The Carrs opened the restaurant in Little Falls in September of 2007. Trent Carr said business has been good and they are looking at expanding. Carr said it the economy appears to be starting to turn around but people need to be able to hold on their jobs to keep the recovery going and the future remains uncertain.
Carr said the area needs a good summer and decent gas prices to help move things in the direction everyone is hoping to see.
Susan McGuire-Hardy recently opened the Celtic Cottage in Pequot Lakes. McGuire-Hardy revamped a previous business in the building, on Main Street in Pequot Lakes between the Jack Pine Center and Lime Greenery. The shop has products from Ireland but isn't limited to Irish goods and includes items from Wales and Scotland along with Minnesota apparel. Brainerd Dispatch/Renee Richardson
Jimmy's Pizza on Washington Street in Brainerd continues to prepare for a spring opening. Owner Charlie Johnson said with the final work on the building and with employee training, putting everything together has taken a little longer than expected but he plans for a May opening date.
The former Choppers bar and grill on Mill Avenue in northeast Brainerd has a new owner and a new name. Dan Berken purchased the business. It was renamed Varsity Bar and Grill.
Squad Pro is a new business in Pequot Lakes specializing in emergency vehicle equipment installation. Owners are Tim Holmes and Andy Kratochvil. Holmes has experience as a Nisswa Police officer and firefighter. Kratochvil owns Fish Lectronics and has more than 40 years of electronics experience.
Squad Pro services central Minnesota, specializing in sales, installation and service of equipment for law enforcement, firefighters and municipal vehicles. The company reported that beyond emergency equipment, Squad Pro sells and installs equipment for private and corporate vehicles like amber warning lights and computer docking stations.
Anytime Fitness in Crosslake and Nisswa has new owners in Steve and Molly Massey.
The Masseys live in the Twin Cities but have had a place on Gull Lake for about a year. Steve Massey said they loved the area and wanted to find a smaller community. They looked at the fitness businesses and bought them about three weeks ago.
Massey said they saw an opportunity to be able to grow the businesses and with an interest in the fitness industry, it seemed to be a good fit. They purchased the Crosslake location and are leasing the site in Nisswa. They expect to hire two to four staff members.
Plans are to add more equipment, particularly cardio equipment in Nisswa and provide a fresh update to the Crosslake fitness center, Massey said, adding they want to have more staff time and create a fun atmosphere where people will want to work out.
True Protection, the call center that proposed to hire 200 people by 2010 and pay top wages, closed its doors suddenly late last month without ever reaching that number of employees. The business originally leased space along County Highway 11 between Pequot Lakes and Breezy Point.
At last count, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, Labor Standards received eight wage claims from True Protection employees beginning in August of 2009, just months after the business first opened. Three claims were paid, two were referred to court and three others remain open. The company's president could not be reached for comment.
The foreclosure numbers dropped in February compared to 2009 and 2008 in Crow Wing County. The number of sheriff's certificates, meaning a foreclosure sale has taken place, were 24 for February compared to 43 in February of 2009 and 35 in February in 2008. Notices of pendency, a precursor to the foreclosure sale, were 34 for February compared to 56 for the same month in 2009 and 40 in February of 2008.
RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.