It’s a question asked of more than a few niche storefronts around Minneapolis and St. Paul: Huh, hasn’t that place been around forever?

These local businesses provide more than just shelves full of goods, many of which are available cheaper and easier via retail behemoths like Amazon. They’ve persevered through the decades because they’ve become invaluable givers of advice, meeting places for likeminded folks, and entry points into the industries they serve—throwback institutions, unbothered by trends and tech.

But seriously: How are they still open? We asked four of ‘em. 

Candyland

Opened: 1932
Address: 435 Wabasha St. N., St. Paul
Underrated item: White cheddar popcorn

Downtown St. Paul can feel uncanny at night. The buildings appear as empty as the sidewalks, and few shops are open on Wabasha Street. 

But Candyland is. 

As you walk closer, the air grows sweet with the scent of caramel. Inside, there’s enough chocolate on display to kill Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Tiffany lamps are suspended over old-fashioned jars of candy, illuminating piles upon piles of popcorn.

Candyland’s roots are a bit less wholesome than its interior. Originally called “Flavo Korn,” it allegedly started out as a mob front to launder money. But the next owner, Arnie Kelsey, was far less “connected,” as the legend goes, and over the next 40 years he turned the Wabasha storefront into an institution.

Current owners Doug and Brenda Lamb formed their relationship there in the early ’70s, back when Doug worked the counter as a high schooler. The pair has painstakingly kept the magic of Candyland alive since—even in somewhat hard-luck locations. 

Take the Minneapolis branch, which opened in 1982. It’s nestled in between a parking garage and a skyscraper. Currently, garland is lovingly wrapped around a lamppost, as if to signal the humanity inside amid the barren impersonality of Seventh Street. What is this place doing here?

When we pose this question to the Lambs’ son, Brandon, he explains that much of the store’s revenue now comes from wholesaling, and the Stillwater location thrives on tourism. So why keep the Twin Cities locations as both downtowns fight for post-COVID relevancy?

“This is a counter-service business,” Brandon says. “We’re here for the people.”

We suspect the Lamb family harbors warm memories of what Minneapolis and St. Paul’s downtowns once were, and could be again—places to gather, if only for a bag of popcorn. That’s worth passing down to the next generation. 

Once Upon A Crime

Opened: 1987
Address: 604 W. 26th St., Minneapolis
Underrated item: The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

What keeps an independent bookstore running these days, particularly one that caters to specific genres? Community events? Author readings? Dedicated regulars?

Devin Abraham, who owns south Minneapolis mystery bookstore Once Upon A Crime, has a clue: “BookTok.” She’s referring to TikTok and Instagram influencers who garner interest in mystery and romance novels with young adults. 

The reality that social media might very well be saving independent bookstores might be tough to accept for skeptical luddites—what about this whole tearing-apart-society thing? But sure enough, during our conversation with Abraham, two girls walked into the shop looking for Richard Osman’s The Last to Die, a 2023 novel they learned about through Instagram.

Once Upon a Crime is everything you’d want from a no-nonsense basement bookstore: It’s dim, cozy, and bursting at the seams, all beneath classic exterior signage in the shape of a chalk crime-scene outline. The shop hosts a monthly book club, as well as almost-weekly readings and signings, and features local authors and publications.

The business has changed hands four times, most recently to Abraham, who took over from her parents in 2022. Other than adding an annex filled with old paperbacks, not much has changed since 1987—except for, perhaps, an attitude shift.

“There were some clerks here before us who were... let’s say, a little gruff,” the current shopkeep admits. “They weren’t afraid to tell customers what they thought, good or bad.”

It’s hard to imagine grizzled, snobby clerks tolerating teens using the store as a backdrop for selfies, much less viewing such behavior as part of a larger business model. Abraham, on the other hand, arranged the back annex for this very purpose. 

And you know what? It’s paying off.

Uptown Balloons

Opened: 1978/2010
Address: 2455 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis
Underrated service: The store can make customized arrangements based on any photo you show ‘em. 

Have you ever driven past a storefront with a for-sale sign, and thought, screw it, let’s buy the thing? That’s what Edwin Hernández did. 

He had no plans to open up a business when he was driving down Hennepin Avenue a decade ago, much less take over Tuthill’s Balloon Emporium, which had been operated by former City Councilmember Meg Tuthill and her husband since 1978.

But after dialing the number on the sign, he pitched the idea to his wife, Anabel. She had been making crafts as a hobby forever, and Edwin thought it could be time to go pro. They both left their jobs and never looked back.

Fourteen years later, they’re still at it. Much like Tuthill’s before it, Uptown Balloons makes arrangements for repeat corporate clients as the bulk of the business, but they’ll do any occasion: birthdays, proms, baby showers, you name it.

The balloon store has endured a well-documented amount of neighborhood upheaval in recent years. There was a national helium shortage following the pandemic, and most recently a nine-month construction shutdown of Hennepin Avenue. Other than Isles Auto, various gas stations, and Soho Cafe down the street, few storefronts remain from as far back as the ’90s. 

Through it all, Edwin’s commitment to customer service and Anabel’s creativity have kept their dedicated business afloat. It seems, as long as there are parties, a balloon store can thrive at 24th & Hennepin.

Bill’s Imported Foods

Opened: 1980
Address: 721 W. Lake St., Minneapolis
Underrated item: Loukaniko, a type of sausage

Longtime south Minneapolitans must have passed by this place a thousand times, always wondering: Who’s Bill? Well, back in the late ’70s, if you wanted good olive oil here in town, you really needed to know a guy. 

Bill was that guy. 

After emigrating from Greece to Chicago and working in restaurants for several years, Vasilios “Bill” Tirokomos discovered that Twin Cities chefs were struggling to find quality foodstuffs. At the time, your average Upper Midwesterner was not too familiar with then-exotic ingredients like olive oil or oregano (the latter of which was dubbed “that pizza spice” by my Norwegian grandmother), so grocers only carried them in limited quantities. 

That was a nagging problem for the local Mediterranean food scene, which dates back to the 1900s. Tirokomos loaded up his truck to throw restaurants a lifeline and help drag Twin Cities palates into the modern era. 

He and his wife Kiki operated out of their garage for a couple of years before opening a storefront, Bill’s Imported Foods, at Lyn-Lake in 1982. Following their contributions to local Greek cuisine, it wasn’t long before new restaurants cropped up, many of which are still around today, including Christos, Gardens of Salonica, and Athens Cafe.

Tirokomos died in 2018, but his legacy lives on through Kiki, their son, Gregory, and his namesake business. Walking into Bill’s, you’re met with pounds of feta inside refrigerated cases and shelves full of jarred olives, dolmas, okra, and pasta. The spice section is aromatic enough to make you sweat. 

Gregory told me they’re bringing an increasing amount of foods from around the world, including Eastern Europe and South America. But the heart remains in Greece, as emphasized by the blue meander trim around the interior. Of course, there’s plenty of olive oil, too.

When asked what has kept the store going all these years, Gregory is unequivocal: “My mother.” 

Other Old-School Niche Shops

• Axeman Surplus, open since 1966: 1639 University Ave. W., St. Paul
• Vac That Thing Up, open since 1975: 500 Dale St. N., St. Paul
• Ingebretsen's Scandinavian Gifts & Foods, open since 1974: 1601 E. Lake St., Minneapolis
• Purrniture Cat Furniture, open since 1991: 2242 University Ave. W., St. Paul
• Hub Hobby, open since 1979: 6410 Penn Ave. S., Richfield
• Twin Cities Reptiles, open since 1978: 2363 University Ave. W., St. Paul
• Sentyrz Liquor & Supermarket, open since 1923: 1612 NE 2nd St., Minneapolis
• Vintage Music Co., open since 1992: 1820 E. 38th St., Minneapolis
• Maharaja's, open since 1976: 205 7th St. W., St. Paul
• Eagle Magic & Joke Store, open since 1899: 11995 County Rd. 11, Burnsville
• Coffee & Tea Ltd., open since the ‘70s: 2730 W. 43rd St., Minneapolis
• Q.Cumbers, open since 1990: 7465 France Ave. S., Edina
• Enchanted Rock Garden, open since 1992: 1228 E. 66th St., Richfield
• Mrs. B's Dolls, open since 1987: 10130 Central Ave. NE, Blaine