Lanesboro Business Owners Reveal Secrets To Success

The Lanesboro business community is built upon the tradition and consistency set forth by long-time businessmen and businesswomen. Each of these individuals operates their businesses with a strong foundation formed by community mindedness and knowing what their customers need and desire. Adding in a touch of “Minnesota nice” solidifies the successful business model.

“You have to listen to your community, and your customers, and it seems a bit obvious, but be nice!” said Lori Bakke, owner of Granny’s Liquor. “I’ve lived in the area my whole life, and the recipe is simple: have your doors open when you say you will, be warm and inviting. Customer service is so important.”

Prior to Granny’s, Bakke ran Grandma’s Garden, a flower shop in town for years. “We have amazingly friendly folks here, and I think that makes the difference. We’re a collaborative bunch, and we hope to grow that collaboration beyond Lanesboro, to work more with our neighbors nearby to grow the whole region.”

Hal Cropp, executive director at the Commonweal Theatre for 28 years and with the theatre for 30, had a vision for Lanesboro since the day he arrived in town. “When I moved to town, a lot of people were just discovering Lanesboro,” he said. “The adventurers that lead people to new destinations were just discovering Lanesboro at the time.”

But even as new people were coming to town everyday, Cropp and the Commonweal leadership knew the same thing Bakke did. “From the beginning we wanted to be established as a regional resource, our target audience is within an hour’s drive of Lanesboro, and this focus on the local community has created stability for us,” Cropp said.

He and his Commonweal colleagues continually strive to do the very best they can to ensure the theatre company has top-notch artistic talent. As important as that is, Cropp also explained that building and maintaining relationships with people in the community is always a top priority.

“This is a unique community that really responds to the art we produce,” he said. “Usually when an actor gets stopped on the street, it’s ‘Hey I saw you last night. It was great!’ But, in Lanesboro, it’s different. I still remember the first time this happened, I was stopped by someone who recognized me and instead of ‘Hey, I saw the show last night, and you did a great job,’ she proceeded to interrogate the choices my character made. We had a fantastic conversation, we may have disagreed,

By Jonathan Levine

but I walked away knowing that if you do good work, the community will care.”

Andy Bunge, owner of the Cottage House Inn and Bunge Construction, grew up in Preston, and came to Lanesboro when he needed to expand his woodworking shop.

“I had a place in Preston, but I needed more space and I heard tourism was coming to Lanesboro,” he said.

A few years later they began construction on The Cottage House Inn. “There were bed and breakfasts for folks who could drop $150 for a weekend. But there was no place for families or senior citizens,” he recalled.

When Bunge relocated to Lanesboro, they were still converting the railroad tracks into the paved Root River Trail. Because tourism was in its infancy, he recalled advice he had been given by his grandfather: If you go into business, produce your product with the best of your ability and charge fairly; the money will come. And, if you live within your means, you will be happy.

“So that’s what I did for both my construction business and in terms of service with the Cottage House,” he said.

Barb Soma, owner of the Amish Experience and E2 Boutique, has always known her target audience was going to be tourists.

“When we opened, Lanesboro was already a destination, and you could tell it was only going to grow,” she said. “So, we knew we had a tourist-facing opportunity. But what has been absolutely wonderful about this community is how supportive they’ve been. We have so many local, regular customers.”

Her advice to new business owners reflects her own experience, mirroring the community spirit and camaraderie of longtime owners. Soma encouraged, “Work together and embrace the community. We support each other’s businesses, and it’s awesome!”

As for customer service, Soma said, “Word of mouth is still our best advertising. We pride ourselves on giving every guest a wonderful experience. You have to always be friendly and always be willing to do so.”

The Lanesboro business owners create a strong foundation for success through experience and knowledge they are willing to share with those interested in creating new ventures and storefronts in town. Collaboration is key and it is widely accepted that if one succeeds, all will succeed. z