MINOT – The New Year can be a fresh start for many things, and one of those is business.
Some businesses in Minot told The Dakotan what they experienced in the 2022 and what they’re looking forward to in 2023.
Two employees, Antonio and Joey at General Nutrition Health in Dakota Square Mall, said 2022 has been a down year for the store, which has been at the mall for at least 20 years.
“They give us goals compared to last year,” said Antonio. “We’re falling short every single month.”
“There’s two other nutrition shops in town now,” said Joey. “It could have to do with that.”
For 2023, Antonio said he hopes the mall does better as a whole.
“I know it’s been struggling but with Scheels’ expansion and Target’s expansion hopefully,” said Antonio. “It would’ve been nice if it was like Bismarck and had Scheels and Target on opposite ends so people would walk through.”
Belle and Badger Woodwork is a business that sells live edge woodwork at different shows across the state. For the month of December it sold its products at Dakota Square Mall. Stanton Grubb, part owner out of Berthold, said the business makes some of its products out of fallen trees in North Dakota, and some out wood from other states.
Belle & Badger has around 20 shows a year, and four or five in Minot. Grubb said what he is looking forward to for 2023.
“Good shows,” said Grubb. “Once you start doing the vendor show circuit you become a carny. You end up knowing a lot of the people that are doing the shows, and you get together so you gain a lot of friends.”
Artmain has been doing business downtown for 41 years. Beth Kjelson, part owner, said the Christmas season is typically the store’s best time of year for sales, but because the weather was worse than most years, this was a down year.
“We certainly felt the Christmas lack of business because of the weather,” said Kjelson. “I think it has been an improvement from 2021. I think with the COVID, it has caught up with shipping, lack of product.”
Kjelson said she’s hoping for a positive attitude for 2023, and shipping to be smoother.
“It’s the industries that have been affected by COVID and the weather,” said Kjelson. “I really do think that the weather has affected it. We’ve had hurricanes all over the country. I hope it gets better for everyone, wherever you’re sitting at.”
Kjelson remembers cold Christmases such as the one this year.
“It’s always a struggle,” Kjelson said. “Retail has changed since the day we opened our doors, because catalogs were the thing you ordered from. Now you order all online, everyone does. But if you want to get advice on what type of framing or if something looks good on you, you need to go to a small business. We sell ourselves.”
Since Artmain is a local store, Kjelson said she knows a lot of the customers, and though the store has lost many, it’s gained a lot of young customers as well.
“I think the young people are aware of small business,” Kjelson thought. “It’s talked a lot about, you know, shop local, shop local.”
Chico’s in Dakota Square Mall has been open for over 10 years in Minot. Its manager Jennifer Ahmann said 2022 was a good year compared to others. She explained what she is looking forward to in the new year.
“New fashions, just a new year is always fun,” said Ahmann.
Famous Footwear in Dakota Square has been around for several years as well. An employee there, Amanda, said she believes this year has been especially better than 2020 and 2021, and even better than April of this year as far as inventory goes. She said she is looking forward to a better work environment for 2023.
