Iron Range Eatery, the new restaurant in Crosby by the creative forces behind Prairie Bay in Baxter, is expected to open this month. They are working on a Kickstarter campaign to fund an outdoor patio seating area. They are currently hiring.
Barajas Mexican Grill and Cantina opened recently in Pequot Lakes.
Salon 77, a Focus Paul Mitchell Salon, opened near Sherwood Forest Lodge on County Highway 77 in Lake Shore. The Echo Journal reported stylist Pam Wachholz was approached by Sherwood Forest owner John Poston to turn the bride's cottage into a salon. Renovation work ensued with a focus on maintaining an atmosphere more like a home than a business. Now the full-service salon includes nail technician Kris Arneson and Pam Marin, reflexology and reiki.
Pine River Market Square, a local growers and crafters market, had a grand opening at the end of May. The market will feature locally grown produce, and homemade baked goods and handmade crafts. It features educational events, activities for children, food demonstrations and music this summer. The market is located on the lot three blocks east of the stoplight on Barclay Avenue, and will continue to run every Friday until Sept. 29. In addition, the market plans to have three indoor fall markets on Oct. 14, Nov. 11 and Dec. 9 at the Warehouse in Pine River.
A memory was revived on a billboard at the Highway 371 and Golf Course Drive by Kohl's that has a nostalgic nod to what was on the corner for decades. Paul Bunyan Land helped cement the Brainerd lakes area in the minds of thousands of children and any motorist who passed that busy Highway 210/371 intersection and could see the giant talking and animated 26-foot tall Paul Bunyan sitting in his massive chair. Babe, of course, was nearby in the parking area. Nearby visitors could pop in the helicopter and see the lakes area where it may be the most magnificent-from the air where the forests and lake-dotted landscape is truly revealed.
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Paul and Babe are now living at Paul Bunyan Land and This Old Farm on Highway 18. Paul's footprints mark his former spot in the Kohl's parking lot. And now the billboard sign is a reminder of all that once stood on the corner welcoming the world to the Brainerd lakes area.
