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Saturday, June 28, 2008
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Despite efforts to keep it going, Chef
& Co. closing BIZ BUZZ
Chef & Co. in Baxter is closing.
Co-owners Priscilla Balmer and Julie Minor said they tried everything they could think of to keep the business going, hoping it would turn a corner but it never took off the way they hoped when they opened about three years ago.
The store, in the Grizzly's Center in Baxter, offered small appliances, gadgets, tableware, cookbooks, wine glasses, dish towels, grills, gourmet food and cooking classes.
Last week customers were coming in to offer condolences.
"People are just coming in and everyone is sad," Minor said.
Store inventory and basics from light fixtures to the cash register are for sale. Balmer said the store was their dream and love and it gave them a chance to get to know the lakes area.
They had people come from St. Cloud, Little Falls and Bemidji for cooking classes. Noted chefs from around the area were in their kitchen for demonstrations and classes. Cooking clubs and a group supporting sustainable resources in growing food met at the store. But all that didn't translate into the sales needed to keep the business going.
"It never came out of the gates like we thought it would," Balmer said.
But Minor and Balmer said they aren't leaving with their heads down as they tried everything they could think of to market the business - even a popular used cookbook program where people received store credit for bringing in the books which were then sold at a discount - and they sought the expertise of the Small Business Development Center at Central Lakes College.
Minor and Balmer said they don't know if it was any one thing, the economy or a concept that wasn't quite ready to go here, but they tried everything up to the last minute to keep the store alive until they felt their backs were against the wall.
"The whole thing is just a bummer," Balmer said.
Their customers came from Aitkin, Motley, Crosslake, Nisswa among others. And Balmer and Minor said meeting the people was a highlight of their store ownership. Minor said they created a store that looked good and offered merchandise people couldn't readily find elsewhere and tried little touches down to fresh-baked cookies on the counter to add to the shopper's experience.
"It's been just really lots of fun," Minor said. "We are really proud of what we've done."
Balmer and Minor said they had new respect for small business owners and the need to support local businesses.
Select Therapy, an outpatient physical therapy provider established in 2003 with offices in Baxter and Crosslake (since 2007), recently announced construction of a new facility in Baxter. The business is owned by physical therapist Trevor Harting.
Select Therapy will move from Design Drive Professional Court in Baxter to a 4,600 square-foot building off Highway 371 and Woida Road, behind the 371 Diner in Baxter. Select Therapy reported it now employs four physical therapists and one physical therapist assistant. The new facility will have private treatment rooms and expanded exercise, including an open exercise area for what Select Therapy describes as gait training, sports conditioning and balance programs. And the business will have a virtually weightless system so clients are able to begin exercise programs before they can be involved in weight-bearing activity.
Ziegler Cat is opening its new 21,000-square-foot, full-service facility in south Brainerd on July 7. The business, with eight service bays, handles Cat heavy and compact equipment, Challenger ag tractors, industrial and truck engines.
Ziegler Cat is on Highway 25 across from Jack's House bowling facility and near the Highway 25 and Highway 18 intersection.
A Nisswa teenager, Colten Marquardt, 18, recently became the youngest employee ever hired by Duluth aircraft designer Cirrus Corp., Central Lakes College reported. He is expected to begin his job - his first full-time job - as a sustaining designer for Cirrus in July, earning $32,500 to start.
Marquardt recently graduated from mechanical drafting and design at Central Lakes College at the Staples campus and Pequot Lakes High School.
Marquardt described his job as figuring out why parts aren't working correctly and working with engineers to fix them.
CLC reported Marquardt enrolled in the one-year college program after CLC instructor Dave Bissonette discussed career opportunities during a visit to the Pequot Lakes High School drafting class. CLC reported its mechanical drafting and design program has nearly a 100 percent job placement rate and Marquardt is the fifth CLC drafting graduate in 10 years recruited by Cirrus.
RENEE RICHARDSON, senior reporter, may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.
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