Local Small Businesses Thrive

SMALL BUSINESSES Thrive during uncertain times Three local companies found ways to navigate the pandemic and find success.

Akey phrase in the City of Blaine’s vision statement

refers to Blaine as a place where businesses thrive. Over the last two years, thriving as a business has been difficult. With a pandemic unlike the world has seen for generations, businesses were left scrambling to stay afloat, let alone thrive.

Blaine is proud to be home to more than 1,400 businesses, many of them small businesses owned and operated by Blaine residents. These businesses are in many ways the lifeblood of the community. The City was able to bolster many businesses and nonprofits during this time through different financial assistance programs, providing nearly $1 million in grants.

With all the assistance, programs, and resources available, each business still has a unique story and circumstances that they have endured during the pandemic.

Blaine's First Brewery

Invictus Brewing Co. opened in May 2018 in the heart of Blaine across from the National Sports Center. After years of planning, a group of Blaine residents were ready to open Blaine’s first brewery. Invictus was a hit with the community, packed with locals and visitors daily.

Invictus had been open for less than two years when the pandemic – and stay-at-home orders – hit, something that was never in the business plan. Gone were the overflowing parking lot and full taproom. Invictus owners had to reinvent their business on the fly.

“First, I have to give most of the credit for our ability to come out of the pandemic to our staff,” said owner Previn Solberg. “They stepped up and helped us get through the toughest of times when we were most vulnerable. When the State announced that in-person dining would be shut down on March 17, our taproom manager had our curbside pickup system in place before we opened the next day.”

Previn recognized the team for not complaining or placing blame. “We accepted our reality and controlled the things we could control and did our best to mitigate the impact of the things we couldn’t,” he said. “We never lost faith that we would prevail in the end. In a lot of ways, we are better off because of it.”

The pandemic brought many changes to the hospitality industry, many of which Previn believes are here to stay. Enhanced processes at Invictus include a host position to help control traffic and movement, a QR code ordering system at the table, a seating waitlist, and an online curbside ordering system.

“We were forced to innovate and implement several business practices that we may not have done or thought about had the pandemic not happened,” said Solberg. “From a financial standpoint, yes, the pandemic hurt…big time. But the reality is that we will come out of the pandemic a more efficient and better-run business.”

The pandemic changed the business plan for Invictus, but Solberg says they are still growing and moving forward, expanding their distribution footprint into the St. Cloud area and possibly other areas in Minnesota and other states in the coming years. In addition, they will soon outgrow their current production space and will need to expand to increase production capacity.

“We’re always trying to develop new products in all of our three categories: beer, hard cider ale, and hard seltzer,” Solberg said. “We constantly challenge ourselves to do something different and innovative, but that’s getting increasingly more difficult as so many breweries are doing a lot of cool and innovative stuff. It’s harder to be unique anymore. It’s challenging us to be better, and we embrace the challenge.”

THE FUN LAB

Keeping Fun Alive

The Fun Lab, did what they could to hang on during the early days of the pandemic, but without the ability to welcome customers into their interactive space, they eventually had to close for good. At least that’s what they thought. A new partner helped bring The Fun Lab back to life in 2021.

When Jim and Marilyn Webber opened The Fun Lab in a portion of a former Gander Mountain store, they brought their vision of a family entertainment center to life. Both had long careers and they were looking for something new. Blaine residents since 2005, they thought the community could use this type of venue. After much planning, they opened their doors in January 2019. They were continuing to invest in the business and grow their brand in the community when the pandemic suddenly closed their doors.

“During the mandatory lockdowns for the pandemic, our type of business was closed for several months,” Jim Webber shared. “When we were finally able to reopen with restrictions, the public was uncomfortable with returning to an indoor venue such as ours. Without customers, we were not able to operate any longer and the business closed in August. Our bank took over The Fun Lab and made a decision to sell the business.”

But the story of The Fun Lab does not end there. With the bank looking to sell the business, Webber reached out to several groups to see if they would be interested in buying The Fun Lab. None were able to reach a deal with the bank. The bank finally sold the business to the landlord of the building, but because the landlord did not want to operate the business, he also wanted to sell.

“We were very fortunate to find another local investor that heard about our story,” said Webber. “He was able to make a deal with the landlord and purchased The Fun Lab. The investor brought me on as a partner/manager to operate The Fun Lab again.”

The Fun Lab reopened in July 2021, and the Webbers were excited to be given a second chance. “The Fun Lab was a huge part of us,” Webber said. “We are so grateful for the opportunity.” As businesses like Invictus and The Fun Lab were trying to survive, business partners and sisters-in-law Christie and Amanda Dewey, the owners of Reverie Boutique & Co., decided that a pandemic was the perfect time to open a new business. Well, maybe not perfect – but it sure was adventurous.

Christie knew that she wanted to own and operate a boutique business and with Amanda’s 16 years of experience in the salon industry, it felt like the right time to make the leap and combine forces to create a unique combination space.

“Timing is everything. Had it not been for the pandemic, I don’t know that I would have gone through with it,” Christie said. “My husband had been working from home since the beginning of the pandemic and that helped immensely with school schedules, kid schedules, and just in general offsetting the time I would be away from home.”

Reverie is a boutique with size-inclusive apparel options, accessories, and gifts as well as a full-service hair salon right in the store, allowing for a focus on truly helping customers look and feel their best. The planning for this innovative concept during the pandemic, meaning what might have been a new reality for many business owners was simply reality at Reverie.

“I don’t think the pandemic changed our business model,” she continued. “We opened on Friday the 13th in November 2020, and our thought was we could only go up from there. Shipping times and inventory issues that were an upheaval for others were totally normal for us because we didn’t know differently.”

Private shopping parties became another norm, giving people a way to connect socially, enjoy one another’s company, and cater to the uniqueness of 2021.

“The pandemic helped us get a firm footing in the community,” Christie said. “I think people realized how important small businesses are to the community and we really saw that support last year. From our perspective, people are much more intentional about where they put their money. We are incredibly grateful for all the community support, and we want to be a staple in the community.”

OWNERS OF REVERIE BOUTIQUE & CO., CHRISTIE AND AMANDA

Three unique businesses all navigating the pandemic in their own way. Finding ways to stay afloat and even chances to thrive.