BY: Becca Opp & Tracy Nicholson
Photography by J. Alan Paul Photography
Headshot by Kim j. photography
Since opening its doors last November, Nest in Perham, Minnesota, has been wildly popular among local patrons and is poised to be a hot spot for visitors to the lakes area this summer. With its modern design, Nest is more than a store–it’s an experience.
That’s what the owners of parent-business, Wild Goose, wanted to create when they spread their wings and expanded their kitchen section into this brick and mortar storefront. Follow us as we find out what this kitchen store, coffee shop and meeting place is all about.
Meet Erica Martin and Laura Bjerke
Martin is the marketing director for Nest, while Bjerke is the chief operations officer.
“Laura and I were challenged by the owners with this project. When we were thinking of names for the store, our first thought was that we didn’t want to be another goose in town to create confusion, so we thought, ‘What does home tie into?’ And we thought, ‘Your nest. Like a bird, you build your nest, and that’s your home.’ That’s where the name, ‘Nest’ came from,” Martin said.
Spreading their wings
Wild Goose has been a staple in Perham for almost 20 years, and it started out as a gift store with a coffee shop. They also had a kitchen section, a bedding section and a toy section. Then, three years ago, Wild Goose expanded their toy section into a brick-and-mortar store called Goose Gang Toys. Now, they have done the same with their new kitchen store, Nest. All three stores are subsidiaries of Goose Group, which is owned by the Huebsch and Mikelson families.
Today, Nest has 6,500 square feet consisting of the kitchen store, coffee shop, lounge and two meeting rooms. Though the coffee shop is three times larger than the one that used to be in Wild Goose, it retains some of the original features beloved by locals and visitors alike. “We still put the coffe drive-through in because we know that people want convenience,” Martin explained. Their new drive-through has been very popular, especially in the mornings. Between 7 and 9 a.m., it has a constant stream of traffic.
Making Nest
Martin and Bjerke were in charge of coming up with the overall design of Nest. Together, they traveled to the Twin Cities and went around looking at coffee shops for inspiration, where they fell in love with a Starbucks in Dinkytown because of its large windows. Then Martin and Bjerke hired Sarah Carlson of Tyson Design Studio and showed her pictures of coffee shops with elements that they wanted to incorporate into Nest. After Carlson came up with the interior and exterior design, Hammers Construction was responsible for building the physical structure.
One feature that is unique to Nest is the addition of two versatile meeting rooms.
THINGS TO FILL YOUR NEST
Nest receives new inventory weekly. The kitchen store also carries clothing and accessories, including the Sota brand, which is made in Minnesota. This brand is one of their best-selling products.
Brides and grooms can even create a wedding registry at Nest.
Nest sells everything from bakeware to organic cleaning supplies.
Nest also carries stainless steel Memphis grills, which are made in Minnesota. Unlike most outdoor grills, Memphis grills utilize wood pellets as fuel, providing flavor to everything from turkey to brisket with the touch of a button. This grill can even bake bread.
The kitchen store also features a demo kitchen, where Martin and Bjerke invite chefs to demonstrate new products and cooking techniques for customers.
Nest
902 Market St., Perham, Minnesota
218-346-4300
[email protected]
findyourgoose.com
You can also find Nest on Facebook by searching The Nest of Perham, on Instagram @nestofperham and on Twitter @nest_of_perham.
