Jerry's Foods
Like Lunds, the history of Jerry's Foods involves an enterprising young man (this one named Jerry Paulsen) landing a job at a neighborhood grocery (Grandview Market) and eventually taking over the business, giving it a new name along the way. Paulsen leased the meat market in 1947, and soon bought the store, changed its name and moved it across Vernon Avenue. It relocated in the late '60s to its current location, and Paulsen's name popped up all across Edina as the founder of still-standing business like Jerry's Printing and Jerry's Do It Best Hardware. The local business has even extended to warmer climates, with Jerry's Foods opening on Florida's Sanibel Island in 1983. Paulsen's enterprises are still family-owned with his son-in-law and granddaughter helping to oversee operations.
Goodnight Moon
Goodnight Moon has been keeping the tots of Edina as stylish as their parents since 1999, stocking a range of upscale American and European designs that make kids the envy of the playground set. (Ben Sherman anyone?). When it was founded, owner Deborah Damian sold clothing exclusively for infants and toddlers but has since expanded the shop's selection, adding size to fit its growing customer base. Goodnight Moon now offers children's clothing up to size 10, but still has the infants well covered with layette lines from the likes of Kissy Kissy and France's Petit Bateau. Pint-sized dresses are available for future flower girls, and the shop can event monogram and personalize items for those who want no confusion about whose shirt is whose.
General Sports
For those unfamiliar, General Sports' specialty can be gathered from their name. As purveyors of sports equipment and uniforms they're also historically ahead of the curve. The first place in the state to sell Nikes in the early '70s. The shop has stuck around, and so have their employees with six working at the store for more than 20 years. Originally opened in 1962. They've been in their current location near the meeting of 50th and France for 40 years. Purchased by Jim Schell in 1970, it's been opened by Craig Johnson and Jon Porter--clerks since 1971--for the past 26 years, and both continue to work at the store full-time.
Lunds
Lunds is the grandfather of local groceries, and the chain of now ubiquitous stores had its humble start in Edina. Namesake Russell Lund began working at Hove's, a small corner grocery in Minneapolis, in 1922, before establishing the red E. Popt Popcorn Company. After becoming a partner of Hove's in 1939, Lund opened two stores--one in Minneapolis, another at 50th and France--and, when the Hove's lease expired in 1964, he proceeded to christen the businesses with his family name. Now run by grandson Russell Lund III, Lunds partnered with Byerly's, another historic grocery chain, in 1997 and currently boasts 21 Lunds and Byerly's stores around the metro.
Belleson's
If the clothes truly make the man, Belleson's has been turning out the highest quality Edinians for decades. The upscale men's clothing store takes its name from Wes Belleson, who returned from World War II and opted out of his father's grocery store business to establish Belleson's in 1948. Sixty-two years later, the stores selections are a contemporary take on the classic male silhouette. Taking a man from Monday to Sunday with pieces that run the gamut from formal suits to swim suits. The shop stocks a mix of domestic and Canadian names like Coppley, as well as imported pieces from high-end European clothiers like Italy's Canali and Swedish shirt makers Eton, and offers tailoring, to boot.
Brides of France
Ooh la la indeed. in a name that's a nod to its location, Brides of France also evokes images of elegantly outfitted women, ready to wed in stunning gowns. Not only does the family-owned shop stock wedding dresses--including new and vintage gowns and couture pieces from Barcelona's La Sposa--but they know the importance of accessorizing: their selection includes vintage jewelry, bags and even furs to pair with the wedding attire. Edina's Brides of France location has been around for over a decade, in a space formerly held by formal consignment store and long-time tenant Scrupeles. The shop's popularity led to a second location in Uptown Minneapolis, where tuxedos are available for the males of the bridal party and previously worn gowns can also be sold on consignment.
Flowers of Edina
Flowers of Edina has provided floral arrangements for the weddings, proms, first dates and make-up gifts of its titular suburb since 1991, and it's stuck around for a good reason. After 13 years in the shop's original space, owner Janine Krieter moved the headquarters around the corner to a place worthy of her picturesque bouquets: in what was once a cigar shop owned by her brother, Krieter converted his self-constructed humidor into the Twin Cities' only natural-light cooler, a glassed-in room of cedar that's the perfect setting for viewing the shop's stems. Flower of Edina's vaulted ceilings were also the work of Krieter's builder brother, making it the perfect space to display the 40 varieties of blooms available daily.
Grethen House
Edina's longtime seller of upscale women's clothing, Grethen House began in 1953 in the Clear Lake, Iowa, home of Greta and Henry Thomas. A portmanteau of it's founders' names, Grethen House moved to Edina in 1981 and was eventually taken over by the Thomases' daughter-in-law currently helping to run the shop, well into its third generation. Grethen House--which was a tenant of the Galleria before moving to its current France Avenue digs--stocks collections from the likes of Rick Ownes, Hache and Comme de Garcons, and has spawned a second space Northeast Minneapolis GH2.
The Dressmaker
For brides who want to be wed in a unique dress, this long-time Edina shop should be their first destination. A 50th and France mainstay, The Dressmaker--whose mortal name is Kristen Olsen--has been handcrafting dresses since 1988, following a stint in the costume department at the Guthrie Theater, in the space above Chico's for over two decades. Aside from bringing brides' dream dresses to life, Olsen offers a range of dress-related services: she performs alterations on bridal gowns, bridesmaid and mother-of-the-bride dresses, and restores vintage gowns making them fit for another trip down the aisle. The soon-to-be-wedded woman with a distinctive vision for her wedding wear is advised to book and appointment with Olsen and her year of dressmaking stat.
Gabberts
Gabberts has come a long way since opening as a tire and appliance store in 1946. It's now known for its furniture rather than Firestones. The tires and gadgets were nixed in 1953 in favor of home furnishings, and in 1959, the business moved from downtown Minneapolis to Edina, where furniture was displayed across 40,000 square feet spanning two levels. The shop was innovative in its use of showroom vignettes--and idea IKEA has happily cribbed--and the creation of the Odds & Ends section, where showroom pieces and scuffed side tables are given deeply discounted price tags (ahem again Sweden). Gabberts' place in Edina history goes even deeper than those now-popular display trends: 20 years after devoting itself fully to furniture, a new shopping space called The Galleria was constructed with Gabberts as it's anchor.
Ralph's Shoe Repair
The story of Ralph's Shoe Repair is one of history withing history: The shop, which had been in business more than 60 years, was one of Southdale Center's original tenants. (Southdale for those not up on their mall history, was the first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping center in the United States.) The shop even existed before the mall opened in 1958, when it was located in Southtown and went by a different name. Ralph has since passed, but the store that bears his name is still owned by his family, now in its third generation. If your soles are worn down from days of mall walking, Ralph's knows just how to help. Their expertise also extends to leather work of all sorts, from handbags and coats to dog leashes.
Bead Monkey
The Midwest's largest bead retailer opened in Edina in 1993, when bead enthusiast Tina Lilja, then 19, set up shop at 50th and France. It has since moved to a widely windowed store a block into Minneapolis (we'll overlook that), and Lilja opened a second location across the river in St. Paul in 1998. Both east and west outposts host classes on beading--necklaces, earrings, and metalwork are among the covered topics--and stock bead of all varieties, from seed beads to pearls and Swarovski crystals. They also supply equipment, including threads, chains, clasps and the like, and kits that helpfully provide all the materials for creating a piece of hand-beaded jewelry.
