Monthly Archives: August 2011

Forget Ikea

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OK, you naysayers who scoffed at the very idea of Ikea coming to Duluth.

Who do we think we are, anyway — Bloomington?

Well, we’ll actually give you this one. Even a developer of the Pier B project — an ambitious plan to transform the LaFarge cement terminal site west of Duluth’s Bayfront Park into a mixed-use development — says there’s no way Ikea is coming to Duluth.

“We haven’t talked to them” admits Sandy Hoff.

So why was an Ikea store included in an artist’s rendering of the development’s retail concourse shown on the front page of the News Tribune on Wednesday?

Call it artistic license. John Cook, the artist who drew up the picturesque images of what could be had been inspired by the Scandinavian theme of the retail area that would be connected to a rotunda where the Leif Erikson Viking ship would be displayed. Since Ikea got its start Sweden, he included it in the rendering.

“There’s probably not enough room for them, anyway,” says Hoff of the popular chain of modern-style Scandinavian furniture and accessories.

Home Choice opens before Bed Bath & Beyond

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Don’t let the lighted Bed Bath & Beyond sign fool you at 1303 Miller Trunk Highway in Duluth.

The new entry to the Duluth retail scene in the old Gander Mountain store site across from Miller Hill Mall isn’t open yet.  Should take another month.

The interior remodeling that’s been going on for months looks to be complete. But (since I’m not above peeking though the locked doors) it looks like the 22,000-square-foot space needs a good cleaning before shelving is installed and merchandise is brought in.

For those unfamiliar with Bed Bath & Beyond, it’s the largest home furnishing specialty store in the country. Wherever it sets up shop, it gives Target and Walmart a run for their money. This will be the first BB&B store in the Northland. The chain already has stores in the Twin Cities, Rochester Fargo and Grand Rapids.

Meanwhile, Home Choice has opened in the 7,300-square-foot space between BB&B and Buffalo Wild Wings in Duluth, in the little strip mall set back from the highway.

Home Choice had its grand opening Monday. But you can still get mouse pads and other freebies if you stop in.

It’s a home furnishings chain that carries name brand furniture, computers, electronics and large home appliances. Home Choice officials said they would open in mid-August, and that’s exactly what they did. Bed Bath & Beyond officials said they would open last spring and, well,  maybe they’ll open in September.

Home Choice’s  caters to credit-challenged customers by offering in-house  payment plans.

“We see it as a new way of doing business, ” said store manager John Ries (who recently moved to Duluth from LaCrosse and seems smitten with Duluth).  “It’s fantastic for people who are hard working. We can make it affordable for them and help them improve their credit.”

Of course, if you want to pay with cash, that’s OK, too.  In fact, with cash you can haggle over the price. They’re willing to bargain, Ries said.


Doing lunch at Caribou Coffee

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Caribou Coffee broke into the breakfast market last year with its Daybreaker breakfast sandwiches. That has gone well. So now the mega coffeehouse chain is eyeing the lunch crowd.

Most of its outlets with oven capability around the country started serving premium grilled cheese sandwiches today. In Duluth, that means the Caribou at Stoneridge Shopping Center and in Canal Park.

“We have a special heating system,” said Alicia Stockard, assistant manager at the Canal Park store. “It’s very quick. You can grab your sandwich and go.”

So far, the response has been great, she says. “We’re getting awesome feedback.”

But are people really buying grilled cheese sandwiches?

“They totally are,” Stockard said.

Course, they’re not you’re ordinary grilled cheese sandwiches, not with ingredients like smoked Gouda, caramelized onion and arugula pesto.

The basic version using three cheeses is going for $3.85 at the Canal Park Caribou, while the Gouda Turkey Pesto and Aged Cheddar Roast cost $4.35. But, the most popular by far is the Italian Chicken Melt, she said.

But forget those prices. For a while you can get them for $3 with a coupon and the purchase of a medium drink.  By the way, Caribou Coffee is recommending one of its flavored iced teas to go with it.

ShopKo deal no deal

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Glancing through ShopKo’s advertising flyer for the week, Jill Schoon stopped when she saw the “buy one, get one for one cent” offer on canning supplies.

An avid canner,  it was an offer the Duluth woman couldn’t pass up.

So on Monday, she sent a friend to the Duluth ShopKo to get a couple of cases of 12 wide-mouth, quart jars for her. Since they typically sell for about $10 a case, she’d get two for the price of one.

What a deal.

After the purchase, she asked her friend how much he had paid for the jars. He said $19.99 for the first case, a penny for the second.

She was incredulous by such an inflated price for one case of canning jars. So she did a little digging. She called a few stores and asked them how much they were charging. She found the following prices for similar cases of 12 quart-size canning jars:

r L&M Supply in Cloquet: $10.29.

r Target in Duluth, $10.49.

r Kmart by Miller Hill Mall,  $11.49 (with lids included).

And one more time for emphasis:

r ShopKo: $19.99 (no lids included).

“Those jars to be double the price is absolutely outrageous, because when you see that, you think you’re going to get a deal,” Schoon told the News Tribune Tuesday.

She said she called the Duluth ShopKo and talked to a manager who said he would pass on her complaint to the chain’s corporate office which apparently sets the week’s “sales.”

It’s deceptive advertising, she insists.

“It meant you would get a deal; I feel cheated and deceived,” said Schoon, warning others to watch those “sale” prices.