BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
Jenna Bjerke and Josh Olson are co-managers of Lucky Duck, which opened this summer in New London in the former Mill Pond Mercantile building. The store is filled with games, puzzles, toys, books, hand-dipped ice cream and other treats and is quickly becoming a retail tourist destination. Carolyn Lange / West Central Tribune
Lucky Duck lands in the city on the pond Retail tourism is an asset to small towns like New London BY CAROLYN LANGE West Central Tribune
NEW LONDON — For a town known as “the city on the pond,” it’s only appropriate that a business called Lucky Duck landed in New London. Located in the former Mill Pond Mercantile building in downtown New London, the 7,500-square-foot Lucky Duck is filled floor to ceiling with shelves of games, toys, puzzles, books and opportunities for hands-on play. There’s also hand-dipped ice cream, popcorn and old-fashioned sweet treats in the twostory toy store with a mission of fun. “We want it to be not just a place where
you go to shop,” said Josh Olson, who manages the store along with his partner, Jenna Bjerke. “It’s more of an experience.” The store, which opened in June, is quickly becoming a retail shopping destination drawing people from all over the region. “It’s about coming in and having fun,” said Olson, emphasizing that the store carries “at least one item” that appeals to people ages “1 to 99.” Lucky Duck, owned by Goose Group Inc., is modeled after a store called Goose Gang, located in Perham where the
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owners also operate a gift shop called Wild Goose and a kitchen and coffee shop called Nest. When the Mill Pond Mercantile closed, Goose Group purchased the building and began taking down walls, opening up the basement and creating splashes of color in the well-lit, spacious building. Using market research and past success at their Perham stores, the owners filled the shelves at Lucky Duck with new and nostalgic board games, well-built toys like Brio and Playmobil, adult and children’s puzzles, outdoor games — including a
