by Dennis Dalman
This winter is the “season of construction” in St. Joseph as new businesses prepare for openings in the spring and summer of 2025.
In an interview with the St. Joseph Newsleader, Nate Keller, the city’s community development director, outlined some of the more major business plans.
“They are good projects – awesome projects,” he said. “It’s good to see employee growth and good wages because of these businesses.”
They will also diversify and strengthen the city’s tax base, Keller added.
Premier Stone
“Premier Stone,” based in St. Cloud, recently broke ground in the Industrial Park just to the north of Hansen & Co. Woodwork. The St. Joseph business will double the size of its St. Cloud location. Its structure is already built, but much inside finishing work will be done to it this winter. It will have a capacity of about 19,000 square feet.
Premiere Stone produces customized marble, granite and quartz stone products for commercial and residential uses. Founded in 2004, it is a family-owned business.
Floor to Ceiling
“Floor to Ceiling,” just north of Granite City Gymnastics in Industrial Park will open this spring. So far, the business-to-be has some walls up and some of its roof.
That same business has been open in St. Joseph for quite some time at another location, but its owners decided to relocate because they needed more space. The new building will have about 14,000 square feet of inside space.
Floor to Ceiling specializes in a wide variety of flooring options, as well as kitchen and bath amenities, cabinetry, countertops, windows and more.
Interstate Bearings
In west St. Joseph, just east of the Dollar General store, “Interstate Bearings Systems,” based in Waite Park, is constructing a building that will have a capacity of about 17,000 square feet. The company manufactures supplies and equipment used by industries that include mining, agriculture, construction, asphalt milling, quarry and energy exploration. About one-fourth of the building will be used for office and retail space; the rest will be used for warehouse storage of supplies and equipment.
Interstate Bearings Systems also has eight other Upper Midwest locations, including the Waite Park one.
Well & Company
In central St. Joseph, right next to the post office and across from the city’s baseball field is a building more than 100 years old, now being refurbished as home to Well & Company.
The address of the building is at the corner of Ash Street and Second Avenue S.
It is owned and operated by Saundra Lahr, a nursing practitioner who lives in Alexandria and who has a Well & Company clinic in that city, as well as one in Sartell.
(For more on Well & Company, see story in this Newsleader edition.)
Keller noted another business is likely to move into part of that building, but he is not yet certain which one it will be.
The House
The House Food and Tap restaurant/bar is scheduled to open this spring with unique offerings of foods prepared by three separate restaurants sharing the same building.
It is owned and will be operated by BriAnne and Craig Hern.
The House will offer food that includes smash burgers, pizza baked in a brick oven and Hawaiian-Polynesian cuisine – to name just three. It will also include a garden bar, a coffee shop and a “tap wall” with 30 customer self-service taps for alcohol and non-alcohol drinks.
(For more on The House, see story in this Newsleader edition.)
Ground was broken for The House last August.
BriAnne and Craig Hern will soon open their new restaurant/bar called The House in St. Joseph. This photo was taken during the groundbreaking ceremony last August.
