st. cloud business

The St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce announced its 2016 business award winners on Wednesday. Blattner Energy, Sue Borgert and Carmie, Travis and Brian Mick will all be honored at the 2016 St. Cloud Area Small Business Awards Luncheon on May 3rd.

The wait is over for JL beers in downtown St. Cloud. The restaurant is in the former Landmark Tavern building at 801 West St. Germain Street. The bought the building last February.

A new franchise specializing in residential and commercial window treatments has opened for the St. Cloud area. Soon to be married (six weeks away) couple Casey Mitchell and Robbie Bohn moved from Grand Forks, North Dakota late last year to start a Budget Blinds in the St. Cloud metro.

"Adult coloring books" have become a must have item for book stores over the past year. The books are just like coloring books children use, but with more complexity. Many have nature themes and claim to promote peace of mind through art therapy.

A technology services company headquartered in St. Cloud announced they've purchased two companies. Marco Inc. has bought Data Comm Inc. in Missouri and Nexus Office Systems, Inc. in Illinois.

A couple new stores are moving into the Crossroads Mall this year. Encore Shoe is moving into the current Nail Studio location.

St. Cloud businesses that use video security to fight crime are being invited to join together to create a safety network.

A new craft burger and beer restaurant is ready to open next week in downtown St. Cloud. 7 West Taphouse has moved into the former Electric Fetus building (they closed in May 2014). Co-owner Ray Harrington says they gutted the building while trying to maintain the historic look and atmosphere.

Cats and coffee may sound like an odd combination to some, but "cat cafes" are rapidly growing in popularity, bringing up an important question: should St. Cloud get one? A cat cafe is a place where patrons buy hot drinks/food and hang out with cats available in a seperate room.

A new store specializing in board games and puzzles is opening in the St. Cloud Crossroads Mall the weekend of October 30th. Games by James is a family owned company based in Savage. The store features party games, stategy and adventure board games, jigsaw puzzles and more.