How did we get here?

It was a challenging start to the school year. The most, perhaps, in my 13 years of teaching. Without getting into the weeds too much on the current politics of education, suffice to say, teachers and schools are being asked to do too much. Kate and I both loved teaching Spanish and Science, respectively, but it felt like this was a diminishing part of our jobs. It was time for a change.

We’d been pondering a shift for years, but didn’t have a viable alternative. Teaching was what we knew. Our physical therapist thought differently. For years, he’d listened to our plight and maintained that we should open a running store in Stillwater, MN. We’d brushed it off, thinking we wouldn’t even know where to begin.

After a particularly hard day at work, we contemplated it over dinner. What would it actually take? Where would we even start? And then: we dug in.

In the first months, I started with simply reading business books. Edward Abbey and George R. Martin were replaced with Small Business for Dummies and Starting a Business Quick Start Guide. I made spreadsheets with back of the napkin estimates on things like rent and cost of goods and slowly refined them as I kept learning. When we felt like we knew enough to start a conversation, we slowly, and cautiously, reached out to friends in our circle who lived in the running industry, people who could tell us if this was a viable plan.

45+ years of combined running experience under our belts afforded us plentiful contacts in the running biz. We gradually expanded our network and shared our vision, increasing our knowledge and clarifying our plan.

Throughout the winter, we made initial contacts with brand reps, crafted our fundraising plan, and began to look for a retail space Downtown Stillwater. We learned how to set up an LLC,  accounting basics, and how incredibly challenging it is to find a retail space Downtown Stillwater.

By Spring, we made our dream public. We launched our website and amassed private loans from friends and family gracious enough to take a chance on us. Our point of no return arrived when we purchased used commercial kitchen equipment as part of a deal to get on a lease for our space at 224 Chestnut St. E. Only a half block off Main Street gazing out at the picturesque Lift Bridge, we couldn’t have hoped for a better location to plant our feet (and our shoes).

So here we are, new residents in an old town, ready for a chance to try something different. We’ve fully immersed ourselves and committed to making this work. Our residence is now half a block from the store.

Buildout on the space will start in good faith tomorrow (August 5th). We’ve been blown away by the support we’ve already experienced from friends, family, and the residents of Greater Stillwater. We are excited to dig in and create a community-centric destination. Our mission is to coalesce and support the outstanding endurance collective that resides in the St. Croix River Valley. We are eyeing a late September opening and hope to be open for the Rivertown Art Festival and Harvest Fest.

Follow us on instagram or facebook for updates as we go! We also plan to post a longer “blog” twice a month. On the first Sunday of every month, we’ll rotate through a variety of running related themes ranging from phenology on the Brown’s Creek Trail to the best ways to not get water up your nose at an aid station during a marathon (is there a way?).

On the third Sunday of the month, we plan to feature “Runners of the St. Croix”. We’ve already met numerous runners with interesting narratives while out on the trails. Borrowing the idea from “Humans of New York”, we’d love to share their stories and highlight what makes this community so special.

Swing by and say hi if you’re in Downtown Stillwater.

See you out on the trails!

John and Kate

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