01/01/2022
Joynes Department Store and Ben Franklin In Grand Marais, Minnesota.
80 years, 1 family, 4 generations. I write this final post, proudly. Admittedly, it is also extremely emotional.
In December of 1941, my grandparents Howard and Rosemary Joynes started our family’s retail journey. They purchased the P.E. Alm Store, which was located across the avenue from our current location, on the corner now referred to as the Joynes parking lot. In 1955, the couple built and relocated to our current location. The history is rich and the stories are many. We often hear words like destination, tradition, and iconic. I can’t possibly encapsulate eighty years in this type of forum. I just hope that you have your own special memories of our family and our small town family owned business.
Howard and Rosemary had a son, Richard. His friends called him Dick. Dick married Margaret. You know her as Skip. Dick and Skip had two children, Jim and Julie. Jim is married to Shanie. They have two children, Ryan and Madi. Julie is married to Rodney. They have two children, Aaron and Nate. I drag you through the family tree because ladies and gentlemen, these are the people who have proudly served our community and the visitors to our community for 80 years. Blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifices? You bet. Success, satisfaction, joy, and great relationships? Without a doubt.
I know you have questions. Here’s my attempt to add some clarity around the recent past and future.
Howard was active in his business until passing in 2012, at age 94. That left our family at a crossroad. Julie and Rodney had been managing the business, but their path forward was in a different direction. Shanie and I had our own careers in Duluth. Selling the business was seriously considered. Ultimately, Shanie and I made the decision to keep the family business going, while staying committed to our careers in Duluth. Monumental task? Yep. To handle the day to day operations, we did something our family had never been done before; we brought in a non-family general manager. With our kids in college, we put in place a 5 year plan. We felt that would be enough time to see if our kid‘s future was in Grand Marais, as fourth generation owners. We felt we owed it to them and to our family’s history to keep open the option of carrying forward the family business. A couple years ago, after many serious conversations, the kid's paths became clear and we knew there would be no generation 4 ownership of the store. We started to explore a transition.
Finding interested buyers wasn’t hard. Finding the perfect buyer was. Selling to the wrong person could change the personality of our town, forever. We felt an overwhelming pressure to uphold our family’s history, as well as a fiduciary responsibility to try to preserve our town's character. Ladies and gentlemen, some of the prospective buyers and proposals we heard would curl your toes and boil your blood….think change and development, think of the types of shops you find in Niagara Falls and Wisconsin Dells. You can agree or disagree, but we just didn’t want to be the catalyst for that kind of change. We hoped to find someone who wanted to keep the framework of an already successful business and have the energy to make it better. In a perfect world, it would be someone who understood our town and the challenges of doing business here. Then a spark ignited, literally.
In the Spring of 2020, our town experienced a tragic fire. It destroyed three businesses, forever changing the landscape of the downtown business district, and forever changing the three business owner’s lives. In the aftermath, a group representing many voices began meeting about redevelopment. The adjacent Joynes parking lot became part of the discussion. Ultimately, so did the Ben Franklin building. During these meetings, I kept hearing one voice stand out. This voice was optimistic, energetic, and committed to getting his business rebuilt and back up and running. His name was Tyler Dean, owner of White Pine North. Tyler grew up in Grand Marais, he and his wife Jessica are raising their family here, and they understand the challenges local business face. To make a really long story short, one day I asked him why he wouldn't just buy my business. Last Spring, Tyler joined our team as general manager. This arrangement paved a path toward possible transition. More importantly, it gave both of us the time needed to conduct due diligence, to make sure we had a perfect fit. I think it is.
I’m excited to tell you that Tyler and Jessica Dean have taken over ownership of the Joynes Department Store and Ben Franklin. I’ll let them tell you their story and tell you about their plans for the future. Rest assured, all indications are that the things you’ve come to expect from our 80 years in business will remain the cornerstone for the future. They plan to take a successful business and build on it to make it better. I think the community, our customers, and our visitors will find great comfort in this transition.
After 80 years, our story comes to an end. From the entire Joynes family, I’d like to thank you for your many years of support and friendship. To all of our past and present employees, we appreciate you and couldn’t have done it without you! Happy New Year!
Jim and Shanie Joynes
