Finding Minnesota

MINNETONKA, Minn. (WCCO) ― It's a place in the west metro you've probably passed by a dozen times, but maybe never stopped to explore. It's a quaint old building off Highway 7 in Minnetonka, where the people inside take pride in old-fashioned customer service.

The General Store of Minnetonka is a business that gives new meaning to "family-owned-and-operated." While this reporter, living in St. Paul, has never had a chance to stop in and check it out, what a treat it turned out to be -- a true treasure!

Don't let the name fool you; there's really nothing "general" about the General Store of Minnetonka. The gifts, clothes, jewelry, toys and food items are unique, handpicked by the store's three buyers.

They cover 20,000 square feet, two levels' worth of great stuff you don't find in most stores.

Manager and founder Gail Bollis said first-time visitors in particular end up browsing for a long time, but the regulars also end up staying for a couple of hours.

"A lot of our customers come here for a little mini-vacation," said Bollis. "When women feel down, they come shopping and so they can come and browse and they can have lunch and they can browse some more, and they can buy some things. Some people maybe can't buy a new sofa but they can buy a new pillow."

The store began when Gail Bollis decided to expand her hobby of making dolls and selling them.

Bollis is now one of the store's buyers, along with her sister and daughter. In fact, there are six members of this family who run the store.

"We just keep changing with the times ... Right now we are working on our Web site and that's a great thing, especially for all of our customers who live out of town and they want their general store to come to their neighborhood," said Bollis' daughter Jenny Putnam, who is in charge of marketing and advertising.

Putnam is a mother of two, but she remembers being a child herself in this store and working on some of the artwork.

"After school I would come out here and work. I would actually do some of the personalizing that we offer in kids' area, where we take a piggy bank and write someone's name on it, put designs on it," she remembered.

Bollis' son Matthew is in charge of shipping merchandise and helping customers pick items for elaborate Minnesota-themed gift baskets, which are even shaped like our state.

"A lot of times people will buy it for someone who used to live in Minnesota and has moved away," he said. "People will buy them and send them away as a reminder of what they are missing in Minnesota."

As a child he remembers playing with toys that were on display, eating candy here, and pulling the apron strings of some of the workers.

In 2000, the General Store expanded to include a cafe where you can sit down and have breakfast and lunch. It's also a place one of the Bollis boys gets to showcase his talents by making homemade fudge.

"We started making fudge here this December because our customers expect a general store to have fudge," said Christopher Bollis. "So we started making it and I love doing it because it allows me to be creative, mixing different flavors. And it's been a pretty hot seller."

He is also a graphic artist, and makes labels and packaging for many of the items sold here and he helps out with the displays. As a child he remembers doing product research, so to speak.

"Oh yeah, we'd play in the displays all the time," he said.

Gail Bollis' husband Chris Bollis is the resident handyman, as well as a manager. On most days, you'll find him in his workshop, fixing something up.

"I always say that I do everything from signing the paychecks to cleaning the toilets. So if there's something that has to be taken care of, either I fix it or my two sons fix it. Or if it's a major problem, we call in a specialist," he said.

Chris Bollis said he is inspired by the craftwork of his wife's father and brother. They helped construct the building years ago using stones from a Minneapolis street that was torn up in the 1970s and timbers from a Minneapolis warehouse that was demolished.

The General Store of Minnetonka celebrates its 25th anniversary this October.

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