Sep. 30—BEMIDJI — If you've strolled through downtown Bemidji recently, you've probably noticed a few changes in the retail landscape. Things are moving, quite literally.
It started this summer when Kevin Johnson moved his myBemidji store across the street to 317 Beltrami Ave. NW, between Chocolates Plus and Brigid's Pub.
Then Wick N Scents, which moved from the Paul Bunyan Mall into myBemidji's old spot at 318 Beltrami and opened on Aug. 1.
The same day, Ritter Lane Soap Company opened in a former shoe repair spot at 320 Beltrami.
Last week, Merry Piglets gift shop opened at 118 Third St. NW, next to the former Wells Fargo drive-up bank.
And this week, Ally's Corner became just Ally's when it moved from Fourth Street and Minnesota Avenue into the former Sadie Rae's Quilt Shop at 405 Beltrami.
You almost need a program to keep it all straight.
"I'm really excited to see all the stores open," said Johnson,
who started his myBemidji design and retail business in 2015.
"This is the most full I've seen the downtown shops in many years."
Mitch Rautio, owner of several downtown buildings and landlord to three of the new stores, agrees.
"When people comment that there are a lot of empty storefronts, it's usually not the case," Rautio said. "Downtown is an incubator spot that continually seems to move and flow. People change and get bigger or start out and don't make it. Usually, they're in transition."
Here's a look at the changing downtown retail scene.
Heidi (Hardwig) Myhre grew up in Bemidji and had her first taste of retail through her mother's store, Emily's Country Cottage. Heidi worked as a registered nurse for 20 years, including 11 years as a nursing director. She had that role at Sanford Bemidji for the last three years since her family moved back to town. Prior to that she lived in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Aberdeen, S.D.
But the idea of opening a gift shop has been percolating for some time.
"I decided to completely make a change," Myhre said. "I decided to open a store because I thought this would bring me a lot of joy. I love gift stores. I love fun, eclectic things."
But how did she come up with the name Merry Piglets?
"The name Merry Piglets is not one that I dreamed up," she wrote on social media. "There is a Mexican restaurant with the same name in Jackson, where my husband and I got married and started our family. Merry means to be cheerful and lively. My maiden name is Hardwig and we affectionately refer to ourselves as 'the Hardpigs.' We love pigs in my family. Merry Piglets is a personal name for me. It is a little different and a little whimsical — but those are things this store will be."
Myhre said most of her inventory comes from small, women-owned businesses in the United States.
"The businesses all have a story," she said. "They give back to children, to women, to organizations that I believe in. That was a huge piece. I didn't want to bring anything in that didn't fit with my values."
Merry Piglets is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
It's all about location for Kelly Speck and Angie Behr, who hope their move of only a few hundred feet will result in more traffic through the door.
Speck and Behr merged to form Ally's Corner in the former Bemidji Hardware building nine months ago. Speck had operated her Junkin' Treasures business there for nearly four years, and Behr ran her Twine and Gable shop at 209 Beltrami one year before the merger.
"Ally's" is a play on the partners' first names, Angie and Kelly. They dropped "Corner" after the move to Beltrami, two doors north of Tara Bemidji.
"It's been a long four-and-a-half years of getting people to walk that extra half a block here," Speck said last week before the move took place. "That's why we're moving, is foot traffic. If you can't beat them, you've got to join them. We're very sad to leave the building. But we're very excited to be in a busier spot."
Behr added, "We loved the space we were in. The building had a lot of history. But we saw several times this summer people just crazy on Third Street and on Beltrami. I'm excited about more exposure."
The new location also will allow Ally's to expand its yarn and clothing selections. A separate room will allow Behr to dye yarn and Speck to paint furniture. They also have room downstairs for group classes and parties.
Ally's is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Evelyn Lane-Ritter said her business got its start because of perceived boredom.
"I had raised chickens and goats, garden herbs and all that stuff," Lane-Ritter said. "And then my son thought I was bored, so he bought me a soap-making set and a book for dummies. And the rest is history."
From her farm near Lake George, she started using herbs and other plants to make soap, and eventually started her business, selling soap from a trailer at craft shows and farmers markets.
As the enterprise grew, it was time to look for a place to open a store."It's been in the works in my head for a long time," Lane-Ritter said. "We looked in Lake George, and thought we had a spot, but they wanted to close down for the winters."
She has come a long way since receiving that first kit and book for dummies. Her store features a variety of soaps, and she prides herself on her social media posts and sidewalk chalkboard quips.
"I don't make the pretty soaps with swirls," Lane-Ritter said. "To me, it's a waste of time and a waste of ingredients. Soap is soap. I try to make a quality bar soap and try to modify it to what somebody might need. I try to keep it affordable."
That can be a challenge. She said the price of olive oil, a key ingredient, has doubled in the last year.
Ritter Lake is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
One is a candlemaker and one is a baker. Angie Laurain and Michelle Parsley have partnered to run their business for eight years, the first two in a kiosk and the next six at the Paul Bunyan Mall. They also have been selling their wares, from handmade candles, bath and body products to baked and canned goods using local ingredients.
The move to downtown has already paid dividends, they said.
"It's a whole different environment than the mall," Laurain said. "I like the vibe down here. I like the small businesses. I guess this is the cool street to be on, so we got lucky."
Wick N Scents' top-selling item is lip balm, which goes for $1.
"I'll never go any higher than that," Laurain said. "We have like 70 different flavors. We're like the Willie Wonka of lip balms. If you want a flavor, I'll make it. Our biggest sellers are bacon and dill pickle."
The business partners complement one another, with Parsley handling the baking and canning while Laurain produces the bath and beauty items.
"But when I'm making candles she's helping me," Laurain said. "When she's canning I help chop."
"And when she's making stuff then I'm doing her labels," Parsley added.
Wick N Scents is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and is at the Bemidji Natural Choice Farmers Market on Saturdays.
Kevin Johnson, a 1995 Bemidji High School graduate, ran his Great River Design business for 20 years, mostly out of his home. The self-taught web designer created myBemidji in 2015 as a venture into the social media world.
Johnson moved the business out of his home and into a LaunchPad site on the lower level of the Mayflower Building, but after two years he relocated to his first storefront on Beltrami Avenue.
"I didn't have an intention of becoming a store," Johnson said. "But then I had a really cool logo that people wanted to see on merchandise, so I made a few hats. Those just flew out the door, and it kind of took off from there."
He still designs websites under the myBemidji umbrella. His new store has ample room for merchandise like hats, clothing and stickers.
"What's really nice about what I'm doing now is when small businesses in Bemidji come to me for a website I can kind of pick and choose and I don't have to charge them an arm and a leg," Johnson explained.
He added that it can be much more expensive to go through a big design firm.
"It's really nice to help smaller businesses in Bemidji when I can, and that's what I do with social media, too," he added. "I kind of consider it guerilla marketing. I'm always posting about other businesses, but that's how I get attention. I don't think anyone else does that."
The myBemidji store is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
