Progress brainerd lakes area
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Brainerd Dispatch, Monday, September 2, 2019
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Edition
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Serving the Brainerd Lakes Area and Central Minnesota since 1881
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Pine and Lakes Echo Journal, September 5, 2019
NEW NAMES AND
FAMILIAR FACES Renee Richardson / Brainerd Dispatch
In August, B2 Builders general contractors work on the multi-tenant building going up in front of Gander Outdoors along Highway 371 in Baxter. The building is expected to be home to two new restaurants.
CONTRIBUTE TO GROWTH By Renee Richardson Managing Editor
restaurant names included in documents developers filed with the city — namely Chipotle and Five Guys. Frantzick said Gander Outdoors has more products than the story ever had before and is also focused on being regionally relevant, meaning it has the supplies that match the local environment and partners with local manufacturers. He said the consumer response has already been strong and had them meeting their budget for June well before the month was over. In addition to the retail store, Gander Outdoors includes an entire recreational vehicles community within its walls in addition to the models in the outdoor display area, meaning people can walk through what feels like an indoor camping village complete with coolers, bicycles and lawn chairs to examine RVs in depth and in comfort no matter the weather. Gander Outdoors, Overton’s and Camping World are all part of the redevelopment. And another name was back in the mix as Ashley Furniture reported it was moving into Brainerd in the Westgate Mall in the former Herberger’s department store. Planet Fitness moved into the back portion of Herberger’s storage area but the retail store was left in limbo after Herberger’s went through bankruptcy and the parent company Bon-Ton closed
its stores after it couldn’t find investors for the company. Herberger’s had been around since 1927. It was Brainerd’s last department store when it closed late last summer. Shortly after shuttering all the stores, Herberger’s was back — at least online. CSC Generation, based in Indiana, acquired Bon-Ton’s intellectual property and announced plans to reopen in a handful of states — Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, while establishing itself as an e-commerce site. “When Herberger’s left the property due to bankruptcy it left a very large space to backfill,” Scot Snitker, of Lexington Realty, which owns and manages the mall, wrote in a news release. “Planet Fitness was the first step and now another great company in Ashley is the next step. I want to be clear it’s not the final step we are taking. We are aware of the other challenges and are working with other potential tenants and will have more exciting announcements soon.” Hallmark, Payless footwear and Dairy Queen were some of the more recent closings in Westgate Mall. Bette Mae’s is also closing. And there are other more long-term vacancies with dark storefronts in the mall from previous closings. These are challenging times for indoor malls, even in states where the winter
Investment, redevelopment and growth are all terms that could describe the start of 2019 in the Brainerd lakes area, as familiar names returned and new ventures began building. This summer marked the long-awaited return of Gander Outdoors with its major renovation along a highly visible section of Highway 371 in the heart of Baxter’s commercial strip. Redevelopment of the site has been a long process and the question of when Gander Outdoors would reopen was a common one for Baxter City Hall. Once the Walmart store, the building was shared by Gander Mountain and Ashley Furniture but part of the building remained vacant for years after Ashley Furniture closed in 2008. Several deals fell through at the Walmart-owned location, which at one point was expected to be home to Michaels craft store and Petco. The Minneapolis-based property development firm Oppidan Investment Co. purchased the site in 2014 with renewed redevelopment plans. When Gander Mountain was reborn from bankruptcy as Gander Outdoors in 2017, the company announced it would reopen the Baxter location in the spring of 2018. It took a little longer than that, but Gander Outdoors was back for a spring opening in 2019. Cory Frantzick, Gander Outdoors store manager, retail, said during a ceremony with Baxter city officials after the opening that other than perhaps Brainerd General Rental’s new building, he thought Gander was the best looking new addition to Baxter. “And we know that as a company you had a large decision to make as you were reorganizing and seeing the value in Baxter and making that investment we truly appreciate that,” said Brad Chapulis, Baxter city administrator. Chapulis said if Gander Outdoors, as a corporate leader, hadn’t made the investment to be here, the city wouldn’t be seeing the things happening around them. Those things included additional construction Renee Richardson / Brainerd Dispatch with a building going up this summer Baxter city officials met with Gander Outdoors managers for an official ceremony to in front of Gander with two familiar welcome the redevelopment in the city and Gander’s return.
Unemployement rates as of June 2019
H Crow Wing County — 3.5% H Cass County — 4.2% H Wadena County — 4.9% H Todd County — 3.6% H Morrison County — 3.6% H Mille Lacs County — 4.1% H Aitkin County — 4.6%
climates make the indoor setting seem like a good fit. But changing consumer habits have foot traffic dropping at malls across the country, CNBC reported this spring quoting a report from data analytics firm Thasos. Thasos reported the good news for malls was retailers were able to draw in shoppers with promotions in 2018. “With more store closures likely on the horizon, consumers can expect to start seeing hotels, gyms, apartment complexes, more food halls and grocery stores at traditional malls, turning them into more like city centers,” CNBC reported. Coresight Research tracked 5,524 U.S. store-closure announcements in 2018, reporting the number was down 32% from 2017, however, the number of store closure announcements early in 2019 was up 23% compared to the same time in 2018. Other key findings from Coresight included e-commerce gains, retail bankruptcies continuing at a rapid pace, a high rate of consumer retail spending and store openings also at a rapid pace. Interest rates and tariffs all playing a part in the mix.
Comings, goings and comebacks
Long after the Great Recession reset how consumers and businesses thought about everything in terms of economic stability, and long after companies took the lessons of that extended economic downturn to be lean and efficient to survive, there were still surprise closings. Olive Garden has to top that list in the lakes area.
NEW NAMES: Page S4
Table of Contents New names and familiar faces contribute to growth................................................ S1 Destination Downtown Business Challenge......... S2 Bobcat of Brainerd thrives....................................... S3 Treasure City promises something for everyone.......S13 Storytellers in stone: Little Falls Granite Works.......S13 Starry Eyed Brewing Co. and Block North Brew Pub............................................S14 Dennis Drummond Wine Co................................S15
Strictly Mushrooms.................................................S25 Flower farms flourish................................................S25 Brambling Rows......................................................S26 Telecommuting and working from home ...........S27 Batcher Block Opera House...................................S37 Butler Building connects past and present...........S37 Northern Pacific Center ........................................S38 Need a ride? Area taxi or Lyft, options are there......................................................S39
Crosby-Ironton Courier: A century of community news..............................S39 Grand View Lodge..................................................S49 Kavanaugh’s Resort on Sylvan Lake .....................S49 Quarterdeck Dock 77..............................................S50 Rainbow Lawns........................................................S50 For companion videos and more photos to go with the stories profiled in the annual Progress Labor Day edition go to the Dispatch homepage where readers, viewers and listeners will find links to videos, photos and the Dispatch podcast -- DispatchCast.