HAYSTACK

By Dylan Sherman Cloquet Pine Journal Cloquet

Carlton County isn’t exempt from the workforce shortages that are present across the state and country, with some business owners struggling to finding experienced labor.

Ryan Lindstrom, co-owner of Carmen’s Bar & Restaurant, said he has seen a shortage of applicants, but also a drop in more qualified candidates.

“In general it is harder to find people in the kitchen,” he said. “Every owner I talk to, kitchen help is the hardest to find.”

Lindstrom said it is normally harder to find kitchen staff, but this year it has been amplified.

Carlton County

Opening new doors

Cloquet businesses take virtual success to storefronts

By Jen Zettel-Vandenhouten Cloquet Pine Journal

CLOQUET — Some small business owners are using the internet as a platform to build a successful enterprise before opening a storefront.

Within the last year, Cloquet welcomed Garden Isle Bath & Body and Abundant Baby to its retail ranks. Both businesses were operating online before their owners decided to move their operations to storefronts.

Jenna Gilbert co-owns Abundant Baby with her mother, Colleen Sunnarborg, and sister, Bethany Sunnarborg. The trio spent a year selling their products online and at vendor shows before settling on a storefront to rent at 708 Sunnyside Dr.

Their decision to open the store sprang from a desire to spend less time traveling and more time with their families. Abundant Baby offers clothing for children currently has an unemployment rate of 4.5%, 1.5 percentage points higher than the state rate of 3%, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and

Economic Development.

The local unemployment statistics for December 2022 show

Carlton County has a labor force of 17,442, with 16,656 people currently employed.

The roles have reversed for Lindstrom and other business owners he has talked to, as he needs to be back in the kitchen rather than out front interacting with customers.

At Carmen’s, that does not stop at just the owners.

“Every one of my bartenders has gone back and been in the dish bin or been that extra hand,” he said. “One of my bar managers went from being a full-time bartender to working probably equal parts in the kitchen and in the bar.” One avenue Lindstrom has used is accepting more student workers or younger employees,

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Ashes to stone

Cloquet crematoriums offer new way to remember loved ones

By Jake Przytarski Cloquet Pine Journal

CLOQUET — Two local crematoriums have begun offering a unique alternative to traditional ash remains of loved ones in the form of solidified stones through the New Mexico-based company Parting Stone.

Sister businesses Atkins-Northland Funeral Home and Cremation Service and Fur-Ever Loved in Cloquet have added the service to their list of alternative keepsakes since the start of the new year.

“We offer a lot of jewelry and glass paperweight

STONE: Page B6 and mothers, as well as toys, books and more.

For Cori and Craig Beck, moving Garden Isle Bath & Body to the space at 807 Cloquet Ave., Suite 1, wasn’t a new experience; the couple had a storefront for the business when they lived in Hawaii.

However, after moving back to Cloquet to be closer to family, they found their home was getting a bit crowded with supplies and inventory of their homemade skincare products.

“We were utilizing my entire garage for storage and two spare rooms ... so I was kind of pushing for a storefront to get everything moved out,” Craig told the Pine Journal last summer.

Both Abundant Baby and Garden Isle Bath & Body continue to sell their products online.

One benefit to sticking with online sales is the reach proprietors can have with their business.

While many of the customers

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