Bargain shopping in overdrive
In the world of bargain shopping there are sales, there are coupons and then there’s the kind of mysterious retail magic Alison Hequet works every time she walks into a store.
RELATED CONTENTNew team takes over Farmington coffee shop
Between the two of them, David Hartnett and Kirk Zeaman figure they have everything they need to run a successful coffee shop. Hartnett is the creative one. Zeaman, who has a master of business administration from the University of Minnesota, knows the ins and outs and running a business. Hartnett drinks coffee. Zeaman prefers the other drinks on the menu. And both are committed to creating an atmosphere where Farmington residents can sip a cup of coffee or drink an iced tea, have some good conversation, maybe even listen to some music.
RELATED CONTENTFormer South Suburban Clinic building will be demolished 
A Farmington building that has been home to a medical clinic and a preschool will disappear sometime in the next few weeks. Rich Ludwig, administrator at Trinity Care Center and Trinity Terrace, said the building attached to the former Sanford Hospital has become a burden. It’s expensive to maintain and there has been little interest from potential tenants.
RELATED CONTENTTwo jobs, two very different sides of the same person
There’s not a lot of common ground between bank balances and blacksmiths’ anvils. Dealing with one is a mostly mental pursuit, the other mostly physical. Kate Aspenwall likes it that way. She’s got two jobs to keep herself busy. One exercises her brains, the other her biceps.
RELATED CONTENTParty bus business offers a fun night out
Some people recommend you designate a driver when you’re planning a night out on the town. Others might suggest calling a cab. But two local businessmen hope you’ll consider taking the train. Or, rather, the Trane.
RELATED CONTENTDance steps, self-expression and cute outfits
Way back at the beginning — before all the lessons and recitals, conventions and classes — dance was all about the outfits for Dana Riste. That was in 1976. Riste had never set foot in Brenda’s School of Dance, and the only thing she knew about dance class was that she had a friend who was in in them, her friend got to wear a cute outfit and Riste wanted one. A lot.
RELATED CONTENTRising Stars Preschool: Ready to shine
The walls of Laura Mitchell’s new preschool are a sunny yellow. The shelves have colorful labels identifying spots for glue sticks and finger paints. The rest of the room, well, that’s kind of a work in progress. There are shelves that need assembling, toys that need organizing and an outdoor play area that looks a little lonely with just one small item for kids to play with.
RELATED CONTENTFarmily business coming to Farmington
For most of the past two decades Tony Weng has helped his cousins run a successful restaurant. Now he and a few family members figure it’s time to do the same for themselves.
RELATED CONTENTWhile others struggle, his business soars
From Eden Prairie to Australia, small-plane pilots around the world arrive safely at their destinations thanks to a small company based in Farmington’s industrial park.
RELATED CONTENTBusiness climate is improving
When your job is business development, a bad economy is not your friend. But for most of the past five years that’s been life for Tina Hansmeier, Farmington’s economic development specialist since joining the city full-time in 2005. It’s her job to market Farmington to potential new business tenants, and to serve as a kind of one-stop shop for both existing businesses and businesses looking to relocate or open for the first time.
RELATED CONTENTLong legal battle over Exchange Bank building may be near an end
In what seems to be a never-ending story, city officials are hoping a final chapter in the tale of the Exchange Bank building is at least in the works. For more than a decade, ownership of one of downtown’s oldest buildings has been a cause for controversy between city officials and the company that bought it from the city in 1998.
RELATED CONTENTLocal hair will help fight oil leak
Until recently, about the most exciting thing likely to happen to the hair that ended up on the floor at Farmington’s Cahill Salon was becoming a pest deterrent in someone’s garden. But a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has turned hair into a hot commodity, and the local salon is committing its customers’ locks to the cause.
RELATED CONTENTFilling a growing need in Farmington
Shoppers looking looking to liven up their yard with some new plants or flowers will find most of the expected items at Jerry’s Farm and Garden Place. It’s the chicken that sometimes take them by surprise.
RELATED CONTENTFor owners, new restaurant is a dream come true
Bit by bit, Jeff and Stacy Schlichter are watching a dream take shape around them. The Farmington couple is in the process of turning a long-vacant storefront in a Farmington strip mall into Blondie’s, the restaurant that will serve as a next step in long food-service careers for both.
RELATED CONTENTIce cream shop looking for a buyer
Families looking for a cool ice cream treat in downtown Farmington have been coming away disappointed so far this spring. Bugaloo’s, the six-year-old ice cream shop located at the corner of Third and Oak streets, has yet to return from its winter hiatus, and owner Stacey Schultz said the shop will not open unless she finds someone willing to buy the business.
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