Courtesy of Grethen House
There is a particular comfort in swinging open the doors to the same local boutique, season after season. The bell chimes. Familiar faces greet you from behind the counter. Stylists pull a range of pieces that they already know will fit you—your size, your preferences, your lifestyle. Regulars drift in and out, reconnecting over the shared sense of space—a space that keeps drawing them back, no matter how the temperature, trends, and cultural atmosphere shift outside its doors.
This nostalgic experience, however coveted, is becoming rarer. According to recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 20% to 25% of brick-and-mortar retail stores survive past their 20th birthdays, and more than half close within just five years. Across the Twin Cities, shopping hubs are increasingly reflecting this volatility, with storefronts in near-constant rotation as leases expire, consumer habits shift, political tensions mount, and economic pressures intensify.
But if you look closely, you’ll find them—a rare handful of shops that have managed to do the one thing few others can: endure. They’ve weathered economic recessions, a global pandemic, and waves of civil unrest that permanently reshaped the world outside their doors. And still, the bell chimes. The doors swing open. And the regulars drift in—this time, perhaps, with new generations in tow.
When asked what her secret is, Bluebird Boutique’s owner, Sacha Martin, is decisive: “Evolving,” she says. “We’re always evolving. People will shop no matter what. You just have to give them what they’re looking for at the time.”
Martin, who celebrated the Edina boutique’s 22nd anniversary this year, says she “only cried once” throughout the two-decade tenure—during 2008’s market crash. Quickly adapting, Martin shifted her inventory to reflect more accessible price points, hoping to meet customers where they were at. “We probably had one of our best years yet,” she says.
Courtesy of Bluebird Boutique
Across the river in St. Paul, Heimie’s Haberdashery has weathered similar storms—a century’s worth of them, to be exact. As if a time portal to its founding year, the fourth-generation, family-owned clothier still has the same cracks in the veneer floors from 1921. But their business is far from dated.
“I always tell the staff that we’re in the entertainment business, not the clothing business,” says Anthony Andler, fourth-generation owner of Heimie’s. “People are consuming stuff on their phones so much—it’s about creating that social
culture again.”
Long before experiential shopping became a buzzword, Heimie’s was exemplifying it—hosting everything from cabaret performances and fashion shows to a broadcast radio station called WHEI Radio. This multidimensional approach has even bled into womenswear, with Heimie’s in-house collection debuting later this spring. “We try to usher in each new generation with a reference point,” says Andler. “The key is to watch and listen. Then, slowly modify.”
Courtesy of Heimie's Haberdashery
That same dedication to generational resilience is alive and infectious at 50th & France staple Grethen House. Even the boutique’s name points to heritage—a combination of third-generation owner Tadd Brindley’s grandparents’ names: Greta and Henry, who started the now-73-year-old boutique as an extension of their family home in Clear Lake, Iowa.
“When a business is family owned, there’s a special level of love and commitment involved,” says Brindley. “The expectation of family is also 10 times higher than it would be for anybody else—it’s motivating.”
Brindley, who remembers playing in the Clear Lake store as a kid, sees his mother’s ownership as a clear turning point. Shortly after his grandmother moved the boutique to the Twin Cities, his mother began catering to the area’s more affluent and fashion-minded clientele, establishing the kind of luxury womenswear Grethen House is now known for. “When you get embraced, it’s a very fortunate thing, and the Twin Cities community has done that for us. We’re very lucky to be in the area we’re in.”
One thing these three legacy shops all agree on? Brick and mortar is hard. But it’s also worth fighting for. Martin recalls once-pregnant moms returning to the shop 15 years later to pick out homecoming dresses with their daughters. Andler points to a young groom-to-be whose great-grandfather bought his wedding suit at Heimie’s three generations earlier. It’s the kind of legacy and continuity that can’t be bought or replicated. Proof that clothes have a strange ability to transcend time, space, and hardship—and, ultimately, connect us.
“I’ve been on this street corner, and I have seen marches and protests. I’ve seen businesses come and go. I hear about renaissance, and then I hear about decline. I don’t know how we always manage to get through, but we wake up every morning, and we do the hard work,” says Andler. “Because the day I can’t walk in off the street, hear the doorbell ring, and say hi to the proprietor will be the day that I don’t want to buy anything anymore.”
A Legacy of Longevity for Boutiques
More multi-decade retailers to support this season.
Bill’s Toggery
Opened 1931 (Shakopee)
Corner Store Vintage
Opened 1973 (Uptown & Lyn-Lake, Minneapolis)
Fashion Avenue
Opened 1992 (50th & France, Edina; downtown Wayzata)
Hunt & Gather
Opened 2003 (Linden Hills, Minneapolis)
Ingebretsen’s
Opened 1921 (Powderhorn, Minneapolis)
Leutholds
Opened 1917 (Albert Lea)
Patina Stores
Opened 1994 (eight Twin Cities locations)
Red Wing Shoe Co.
Opened 1905 (500-plus locations)
