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Cars are coming back to the closed BP Pump and Munch at 6650 East U.S. 14.
A used car dealership is leasing the space, taking it over from owner Kato Inc.
After closing multiple Pump and Munches, Kato has only one left in Rochester: the one at 1607 S. Broadway.
For now, that is.
Looking for a local spot to empty a clip into a target without worrying about the weather?
A Rochester gun shop owner is taking a shot at creating an indoor shooting range.
Gary Schoenmann, who owns American Gunsmith & Gun Shop in northeast Rochester, is building a 5,700-square-foot facility with seven shooting lanes and a retail area in the Elgin Industrial Park.
“There is a great demand for it,” he says. “We think it will be a pretty big hit.”
Construction of the new Patriot Indoor Range & Gun Shop is under way. The hope is for it to be finished between late August and early September.
Schoenmann and his wife, Kristi, are teaming up with Frank and Julene Horstman of Plainview in the new project.
“Frank brings to the table his military experience as a gun trainer, and Julene also does training, particularly in self-defense courses for women,” Schoenmann says.
The plan is to make training a big part of the Patriot range, offering classes for youth and adults with skill levels ranging from novice to advanced.
He also hopes to strike group-plan agreements with area law enforcement agencies for their officers to use the range.
Right now, Schoenmann plans on keeping his American gun shop in Rochester open even after the Patriot range fires up. However, he expects to eventually shift all of the retail to the Elgin site, though the gunsmithing will remain in Rochester.
Once all chambers are firing at the range, Schoenmann estimates about six to seven people will staff it. He expects to attract customers from an 85-mile radius, if the Patriot Indoor Range hits the bullseye he is aiming for.
This is interesting. Rochester Area Economic Development, Inc. - you know, RAEDI - is launching an Inventors & Entrepreneurs Club. Unfortunately, I've been out of the mix for a bit and have not gotten the info about the informational meeting slated for Thursday at 6 p.m. out yet. So here's some of the release that RAEDI pumped out. This does seem like an intriguing concept.
RAEDI will hold an I&E Club meeting on Thursday, July 9, at 6 p.m., in the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce Board Room, 220 South Broadway, Rochester, Minnesota. Guest speaker for the first meeting will be Terry Whipple, Executive Director for Juneau County Economic Development Corporation. Whipple was instrumental in the development of an I&E Club in Juneau County, Wisconsin, and will discuss the advantages of starting an I&E Club in the Rochester area.
The purpose in developing this club is to provide opportunity for inventors and entrepreneurs to learn the proper steps to explore their ideas, be supported and motivated by their peers, tap into a vast network of like minded people, and get direction toward needed resources as quickly as possible.
Gary Smith, President of RAEDI said, “Launching of the club is another step towards sustaining our area’s vibrant and supportive entrepreneurial culture. We have a number of area resource providers including RAEDI, the Small Business Development Center, SCORE and local Chambers of Commerce among others who provide direct services to entrepreneurs. The I&E Club adds a new dimension where inventors and entrepreneurs can interact not only with the service providers but fellow inventors and entrepreneurs as well. In the end, we hope to create a forum for those with ideas for new products, goods or services and surround them with a supportive and nurturing environment that ultimately leads to new business formation, job creation, and increased tax base.”
This club will meet monthly once it is established. The club is opened to all interested persons. Please contact RAEDI at 507-288-0208 if you would like more information or plan to attend.
The word swimming around Rochester these days is that a new aquatic/ aquarium operation may be rolling in with the tide into the Med City soon.
The J. Jill women's clothing store in Rochester's is on the Talbot's company hit list.
The new south Rochester Walgreens store with additional commercial space is shaping up fast across from the Olmsted County Fairgrounds.
Here's some from a good piece by my colleague John Weiss about the last day of Lewiston's only grocery store. Find the full story here.
Nearly all the 24 Malt-O-Meal bins were empty, refrigerated dairy cases had but a few gallons of milk, many shelves of Wiens Food Center were bare Friday.
At 6 p.m. Saturday, the only grocery store in Lewiston will close. Scott Wiens, who owns it with his wife LouAnn, said he can’t get enough business with the store its present size and can’t afford to expand to compete with bigger stores nearby.
Any remaining food will be sold to Mike’s, another independent grocery store, in St. Charles.
It means people will have to drive at least 12 miles or more for most of their groceries.
But three people at the store Friday said the closing means more than extra driving time. It means a harder time to raise money for FFA, fewer jobs and a harder time for Vickie Luehmann to bake Christmas cookies.
For Natalie Schumann, the closing means she will have more time on her hands this summer. She will be a senior at Lewiston-Altura High School next year and planned to work at Wiens again this summer.
Vickie Luehmann said she began shopping there since it opened 18 years ago. “Certainly it’s a loss to our community,” she said. “Scott really bent over backwards to get things.”
A new retailer to the area — Home Choice — plans to open its doors in early July.
The Plano, Texas-based chain sells furniture, electronics, computers and appliances. It is setting up shop in a 6,900-square-foot space at 3450 55th St. N.W.
What makes this store different is that while items can be purchased outright, Home Choice can also set up financing.
“You don’t have to have a credit card,” said Home Choice spokesman Xavier Dominicis.
With six other stores in Minnesota, why come to Rochester?
“We go where there is demand, where there is interest,” he said.
Look for six employees to staff the new store.
Here's the internal memo about Mayo's Mall of America news this afternoon.
P-B Reporter Matt Russell did a great job as the first journalist to report this. His piece clearly explained this project in depth.
Here's the Mayo Clinic memo that rolled out around 2 p.m. this afternoon.
Mayo Clinic will announce today that it has signed a letter of intent to be part of the phase two expansion of Mall of America. Over the next 12 months, Mayo Clinic will define how this new facility will complement Mayo’s existing presence in Minnesota.
Mall of America expansion plans call for an enhanced experience for visitors, including retail, office space and business center, lodging, entertainment options and cultural attractions, among others, which will be located north of the existing mall. This concept, along with Mall of America’s annual draw of more than 40 million national and international visitors, is a natural fit for Mayo Clinic.
The Mall of America location will be an ideal opportunity to provide a gateway to services for Mayo patients in Minnesota and across the country. Opening Mayo Clinic to a broader marketplace will help meet the needs of an increased number of patients from around the country and world and will present opportunities to share Mayo Clinic with more people. It also is one of many ways Mayo Clinic will position itself for future growth and transformation of its practice, while bringing Mayo care to a broader audience beyond its campuses.
Initial concepts call for care delivery models that will help Mayo reach patient audiences outside its existing patient population. Services provided through a presence at the Mall of America will enhance services offered at Mayo Clinic, not replicate them.
“Mall of America provides an opportunity to offer patient services outside of traditional care models as well as enhancing convenience and connectivity to Mayo Clinic,” says Glenn Forbes, M.D., CEO, Mayo Clinic Rochester. “Mayo Clinic’s presence at the Mall of America will align with Mayo’s goal of being a destination medical center. The Mall of America draws more than 40 million visitors per year from more than 30 countries, as well as nationwide. Likewise, Mayo Clinic is an international destination, so this is a natural link for us.”
Some initial, possible concepts for Mayo’s new facility include, but are not limited to:
* New models for screening and prevention: Focus on testing, counseling and screening with prevention plan development.
* Health care services for Mall of America guests: A place where guests can access primary and some secondary care services, and have access to tests and trials testing new methods of treatment.
* Services for new and returning Mayo Clinic patients: Helping patients with access, appointments, logistics and other questions related to Mayo Clinic services. This might include programs that ease/speed access to core Mayo Clinic programs, such as transplant, and comprehensive programs that meet the unique needs of international patients.
* Education/input opportunities: Unique, new ways to get broad input around new models for delivering care to patients, as well as new products and service prototypes; and an opportunity to deliver health education to the public.
“Mayo Clinic innovations throughout the years have transformed the practice of medicine,” says David Herman, M.D., Mayo Clinic’s director of Employee and Community Health. “Mayo’s strength has been focusing on the needs of the patient while continually searching for ways to improve care delivery.”
“This project builds on that Mayo tradition of innovation and focusing on the needs of the patient,” Dr. Forbes says. “Mayo always creates greater value for patients by developing care delivery models based on what patients want and need.”
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