2023 Progress
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2023 PARKRAPIDSENTERPRISE.COM PARK RAPIDS ENTERPRISE
Boho Chandelier features natural beauty products and more Lorie Skarpness Park Rapids Enterprise Boho Chandelier is a new business in Park Rapids that developed out of two women’s specialties coming together under one roof in the former Stacked High Deli. Owners Trista Barstow and Lisa Tovar opened their new shop in October 2022 at 122 Main Ave. S. after selling their merchandise at the Hubbard Prairie Farmer’s Market last summer. Both women grew up in the Menahga area. Boho Chandelier was a name they came up with together. Boho is to represent the artsy, fun, crafty and colorful side of what they do and Chandelier is to represent the classy side of their business. “While we have done some fun updates to the interior, we wanted to keep some of the nostalgia of the building and we kept a corner bench from the restaurant and we have the original three train sets displayed on the track that runs along the entire store,” Barstow said. Each woman also has their own brands in the store. Wild Bare Care is Tovar’s specialty. The decor and gift side is Barstow’s and is named the Dekco Shoppe. “When we met at the farmer’s
market, we were each selling our own products and then we came together and created Boho Chandelier as our store together,” Barstow said. “It is a shared space featuring both of our brands.” Handmade skin care, soap and bath products are made by Tovar right in the store. “They are all made from natural ingredients,” Tovar said. “Most of the products are vegan because they are plant-based. I also use pure essential oils. We’re setting up a refill area for products like soap, shampoo and laundry soap. We use glass bottles and are trying to do sustainable, zero-waste products. For example, there are toothpaste tablets instead of toothpaste tubes. You chew the tablets and you get the toothpaste wet to brush your teeth. Another thing offered is a dish soap bar with biodegradable packaging. My daughter and I infuse our own oils and make salves, balms and other products from that.” The retail side of the store features cabin accessories and home to camper decor, fashion accessories, a variety of earth-friendly products such as Contributed / Boho Chandelier bamboo hair brushes, soy candles and Owners Lisa Tovar and Trista Barstow feature a variety of merchandise in their store, including natural products and fun cabin decor. handcrafted items.
Tippy Canoe showcases small, CONNOISSEURS regional brands Bryan and Beth Hirts take ownership of
CANDY Aunt Belle’s Confectionary
By Robin Fish Park Rapids Enterprise Park Street Inn owners Mike and Katie Johnson opened the Tippy Canoe in May 2022 in downtown Nevis. “One small business helping another, that was our goal,” said Mike. The couple bought the Victorianstyle bed and breakfast overlooking Halvorson Beach in Sept. 2020 from Linda Hayle, who had owned it with her husband for many years. “Her husband passed away, so it just became too much for her,” said Katie. “We were looking for a way to move up north, so that was our way.” The Johnsons previously lived in Cannon Falls, in southeastern Minnesota. “We’ve had a resort in the family for 17 seasons now,” Katie explained, speaking of the Knotty Pines Resort. “We were driving up to go there all the time, and then my sister bought that and we bought the Park Street Inn right around the same time.” “I love it up here,” said Mike, who enjoys snowmobiling and ice fishing. “I wouldn’t move back down there.” “And our daughter really likes the school here,” Katie added. Hattie, 8, is in second grade at the Nevis School. “She’s our innkeeper in training, and she helps out up here.” When they started carrying products by small, regional producers, they decided to rent a separate storefront space, partly to avoid having customers blocking traffic in front of the inn. “We didn’t want people parking on our property to shop in our store,” said Katie. “We didn’t think our neighbors would appreciate it, either. So, they moved into part of the former bank building at 101 Main St. W., shared with Amelia’s Salon and the Hemptress, with their shop’s entrance facing the giant tiger muskie across Bunyan Trails Road. Ironically, Katie noted, the same Halvorson family originally owned both the bank and what is now the Park Street Inn. “I don’t know when this was added on,” she said of the shop’s location. “The pictures I’ve seen from way back then didn’t have it. This was an empty lot. But it’s obviously been on for quite some time.” Already there when they moved in, she said, were the rustic log
By Shannon Geisen Park Rapids Enterprise Bryan and Beth Hirt are concocting a delicious candy empire. In mid-May 2022, they became the new owners of Aunt Belle’s Confectionary. This is a mere year off their purchase of Cuzzins Candy Store, directly across the street, in 2021. “It’s funny because Beth actually just came in here one time to buy turtles over Christmas and they were talking,” Bryan recalled. “All of a sudden, we got a call two weeks later.” Ray and Karen Carlson offered to sell Aunt Belle’s to the Hirts. The Carlsons purchased the famous fudge shop in 2019.
Bryan said they hesitated, at first. After multiple conversations, the couple realized the two candy stores are markedly different from each other. Gummies and taffies are top sellers at Cuzzins, he noted, while handmade fudge, caramel and chocolate treats appeal to Aunt Belle’s customers. Bryan took a leave of absence from his teaching position at Century Middle School to manage both candy stores. Beth remains a physician’s assistant specializing in family medicine at Essentia Health, helping wherever she can with the businesses.
AUNT BELLE’S: Page B7
Robin Fish / Enterprise
Katie and Mike Johnson, owners of the Park Street Inn, opened the Tippy Canoe in May 2022 at 101 Main St. W., part of the building shared with Amelia’s Salon and the Hemptress, facing the giant tiger muskie across Bunyan Trails Road. With them is their Siberian husky-German shepherd pal, Flip. walls and the stone fireplace in the corner, where they keep an electric fire going year round. “It doesn’t put out heat unless we tell it to, so we get the cozy vibe in here all summer long,” said Katie. Mike built the store displays out of antique-looking scraps of barn wood they had collected. He also contributes pieces of birch bark art, such as baskets, using bark harvested from trees that either fell down or were harvested in town, while Hattie sometimes brings painting supplies to the shop and makes canvas art to sell.
Supporting local
“The inspiration for the shop was local food brands and treasures,” Katie said. “A lot of these bags that you see hanging and displayed, those are my day-job customers.”
TIPPY CANOE: Page B8
Shannon Geisen/Enterprise
Beth and Bryan Hirt took over Aunt Belle’s Confectionary in May 2022.