Duluth
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Duluth News Tribune | Wednesday, March 3, 2021
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Michelle Truax / 2019 file / News Tribune
DISTINGUISHED
Celebrating Innovations, Opportunities and Cornerstones in Business
For some, business is booming &KDQJHV LQ VSHQGLQJ KDELWV EHQHāW VHFWRUV GLIIHUHQWO\ By Jimmy Lovrien jlovrien@duluthnews.com hen the world changes, so do our spending habits. While the pandemic has wreaked havoc on businesses like dine-in restaurants and entertainment venues, it’s also been an opportunity for some area businesses, or parts of businesses, to prosper.
have figures available for Dulutharea grocery stores. “When the pandemic hit, we found everybody was buying coffee in the grocery stores, so that business just increased,” Faust said. “It’s just kept us kind of stable.” Russell Crawford, owner of Almanac Coffee, a roaster in Duluth Folk School in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, said he’s managed to grow his business by 10%-15% during At-home brew boom Not having to go to the office every the pandemic, even when the folk day means fewer people picking up a school’s Dovetail Cafe and Marketcoffee on their way to work or walk- place has been closed for much of the ing over to the nearby cafe for a break. past year. He’s done it by shifting focus from Meeting up with friends for a cup of wholesale to bulk coffee sales and coffee isn’t as likely now either. But caffeine addictions are hard embracing the fact that more people would be drinking coffee from home. to break. “There definitely was this wave “People aren’t going out for coffee as much so more people are brewing of unknown that kind of hit us,” at home,” said Eric Faust, owner of Crawford said. “What I was able to do, and kind of what has made up Duluth Coffee Company. Duluth Coffee Company’s down- for a lot of that, is just this pivot that town Duluth cafe has been closed occurred to a lot of people buying since March, and its smaller cafe coffee from home.” Now, he’s eyeing the addition of next to Hoop’s Brewing Company has his first part-time employee in the been sold. While business overall is down 30%, spring to help. “I am looking forward to more Faust said selling beans to home coffee makers has increased in grocery growth this year,” Crawford said. Clint Austin / 2018 file / News Tribune Ÿ stores across the state — up 50% in Steve Schadewald, general manager of Mount Royal Foods, in Duluth, said customers are buying the Twin Cities market. He did not PANDEMIC BOOM : Page 4
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more per trip overall since the COVID-19 pandemic started.