The name might be new, but Lunds & Byerly’s grocery store dates back to 1941 in Edina.
While most people know that the two long-time chains, Lunds and Byerly’s, merged in ownership in 1997, and then in name this year, only those with long memories remember that Lunds first opened at 50th and Halifax as Hove’s.
Hove’s began as a small corner store in Uptown, where Russell Lund worked part-time when he was a college student in 1922. Within three months, he became a full-time employee and a 10 percent partner in the cheese and cracker department owned by Tom Cordalis.
Lund went into real estate with Cordalis and built new Hove’s stores in Uptown in 1939 and Edina in 1941. The stores were leased to Hove’s, with Lund as a manager.
The stores thrived. In 1964, Hove’s lease in Lund’s buildings expired and Lund took over the grocery store operations under his own name.
Find out more great stories from Edina’s history by visiting the Edina History Museum, 4711 West 70th St. Hours: Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to noon. Free admission. 612.928.4577
