Ely for business? (Hibbing, Bemidji, Grand Rapids: for sale, home, casino)

[Kizziebird]

I was recently able to go to Ely and thought it was a great little town. The surrounding area is also just BEAUTIFUL!! My husband is a Native American artist and dreams of owning his own small gallery/shop. We checked out some of the buildings for sale on Sheridan street, and are wondering if the business turnover there is high? It seems there were quite a few commercial buildings for sale. Property prices are extremely reasonable which I am guessing is because the economy is not as good as down here in the cities?

[MidniteBreeze]

Hi Kizzie, me again

Since you haven't gotten any responses to this thread, I might suggest contacting the Ely chamber of commerce office to see if you can't find someone who can answer your questions?

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by Kizziebird

Property prices are extremely reasonable which I am guessing is because the economy is not as good as down here in the cities?

Yep. I've never lived in Ely, but we visited back in May. I talked to some of the locals. Ely's economy is "struggling" to put it nicely. They rely almost exclusively on tourist dollars these days, the boom of which come in the summer. Fall and winter bring in some money from hunting and fishing, but summer is the boom season.

I could see a gallery like what you describe fitting in very well in Ely. How successful might it be? I couldn't tell you. You might try contacting the local Chamber of Commerce and maybe even seeing if there are any other galleries in town and ask how they are doing.

[Kizziebird]

Thanks for responding!

[mudmuffin]

Kizzie, you might consider another location such as Grand Rapids or the North Shore. There is a big artist community in Grand Marais. Both of these areas get a lot more traffic than Ely. Not trying to discourage you but not sure if you'll be very successful in Ely.

[Kizziebird]

Thanks MudMuffin! That's a good idea. We will check around the area.

[Mark S.]

Grand Rapids is a nice place. The only thing I didn't like about it was that traffic seemed awfully bad for such a small town. Still, a nice town altogether. Very friendly locals.

I've never been to Grand Marais. That's resort country, isn't it?

[MidniteBreeze]

Yes, the traffic is kind of busy down the "main drag" in Rapids (hwy 169 where most of our shopping and restaurants are located). But I guess being the biggest thing between Hibbing to our east and Bemidji to our west (and nothing major to speak of north or south of us for quite a ways), we're bound to kind of be a local "hub."

Grand Marais is the northernmost "bigger" town on the North Shore, before you get to Canada. (Grand Portage is right on the border, on a reservation. They have a casino but not much of a "town" to speak of.) G. Marais is also the gateway to the Gunflint Trail resorts. Sven and Ole's pizza is locally famous, sort of a "must do" for tourists. I've spotted Sven and Ole's bumper stickers in several locations all around the country!

[mudmuffin]

MidniteBreeze, I was just thru Grand Rapids a couple of weeks ago on my way to gamble at Fortune Bay. The traffic really isn't that bad in Grand Rapids considering it is the largest town in the area. I like stopping at the surplus store out on 2.

Gand Marais is a tourist destination during the summer. I think Sven and Ole's is popular because people are tired of eating camp food when they're done on the Gunflint Trail. lol

Ely is home to Steger Mukluks.

[MidniteBreeze]

Yep, Glen's Army-Navy store on Hwy 2, pretty popular with the local sportsmen as well. Our other "claim to fame" is the Judy Garland museum (Grand Rapids was her hometown) but someone stole the ruby slippers! I still don't think they've found them...

Didn't they try to open a Sven & Ole's "spin off" restaurant in Grand Marais a few years back? It was Lena & Ana's Mexican restaurant (or something like that)...I don't think it ever caught on though.