Paddle On Coffee and Maker Emporium opens in Lanesboro

Jul. 10—LANESBORO, Minn. — Paddle On Coffee and Maker Emporium was built on a love of kayaking and a desire to serve the Lanesboro community with something new and fresh.

Allie and Ryan Palmer moved to Lanesboro in 2021 and bought the Red Root Inn and Suites, which is about a block down the street from their newest business. The couple had been to the area a couple times to paddle the river or bike local trails, and completely fell in love with the area.

"We've always really liked alive small towns," Allie said. "We've vacationed and celebrated anniversaries while trying to find alive small towns, especially throughout Minnesota or wherever we lived."

Lanesboro was the perfect example of an alive small town, and the Palmers fell in love with the area immediately. Between the amount of outdoor activity and the lack of mosquitoes, Lanesboro was a perfect fit for the couple.

They describe buying the hotel as a calculated risk during the pandemic, but Lanesboro didn't seem to be hit quite as hard as other small towns.

"The people who could no longer go on vacation, but weren't holed up indoors, felt comfortable coming toLanesboro because there weren't as many people," Ryan said. "Our property, most of the rooms have exterior entrances so people didn't have to interact if they don't want to."

There is also a plethora of outdoor activities to do in the area that allowed for people to social distance while being away from home. As the pandemic began to subside, the two played around with the idea of starting another business.

Between the both of them, they have founded seven different businesses with the newest being Paddle On Coffee & Maker Emporium, which held its soft opening on June 30, 2023.

The idea behind Paddle On Coffee & Maker Emporium was first pitched to the building's previous owners in May. The former owners completely remodeled the interior, replacing the floors and renovating the space into a more modern appearance in hopes of turning it into something before changing their minds.

There are a few designs the previous owners had that could not be replaced like the giant fish suspended in the air. The coffee shop also has a wall dedicated to prints of fish that were caught by the previous owner. Each photo is a different fish found in the Root River.

The fish theme led the Palmers to name their establishment Paddle On Coffee & Maker Emporium. The two have a shared love of kayaking, which brought them to the area in the first place, and wanted to incorporate their hobby into the name.

The emporium part of their name is because the coffee shop also serves as a retail shop for local crafters. They have many different items from prints and postcards to woodworking and soaps for sale. They also have a "T.J. Maxx style" checkout area to peruse while they wait.

Since the Palmers didn't approach the previous owners until May, the turn around to open has been a very quick process. The store is currently limited to prepackaged food and basic brewed coffee while the eatery's food permits get approved, but everything should be up and running by the middle or end of July.

"We want our guests to have a great experience, and what does it all entail?" Allie said "There's so many things to eat, things to do, places to go when it's rainy, places to cool off. We can provide a lot on site but people don't come here to come to a hotel. They come here to do things. All of the outdoor things, every indoor thing, every place to eat, all adds value to our guests."

The Palmers made an effort to survey tourists and community members on what they would want to see the shop serving and what hours they are more likely to come in. They value the input from their guests and residents, hoping that the data they received will help mold the new business to meet consumer needs.

The Palmers know there is pressure on the breakfast spots in town. Two of the breakfast places also do catering, which requires them to close some days. By opening Paddle On Coffee & Maker Emporium, they hope to alleviate some of that pressure while providing their guests with more options. They won't have menu items like a restaurant, but are working with a local chef to have grab-and-go food items.

Zach Lind, owner of the

Driftless Trading Post based in Peterson with a food trailer in Lanesboro,

will make the grab-and-go items with farm-to-table locally sourced ingredients. There will be a wide variety of items from breakfast burritos and sandwiches to breakfast pizza, with eggs and meat from the area.

"We're not not trying to compete or to redo what they're doing," Ryan said. "We're trying to do things that are complementary that are separate with the grab-and-go kind of stuff."

One item the Palmers would love to add to their menu is crepes. They want to have a variety of sweet and savory options with rhubarb included. In 2008, the Minnesota State Legislature named Lanesboro the rhubarb capital of Minnesota, so the Palmers want to include it in their menu as much as they can.

"My family has always made chocolates," Allie said. "So while we're getting started, I'm buying chocolates but eventually we'll have like truffle and chocolate-covered pretzel sticks where there's like a paddle or a kayak on your pretzels. Just things that are fun."

In the future, the Palmers would also like to open up the back room as a private room for meetings, leadership retreats or anything else the public might need. Supporting the city is a goal for the Palmers. In 2022, Lanesboro received a $50,000 grant to increase winter tourism and the Palmers hope their coffee shop will give people another place to warm up in the winter months after snowshoeing or skiing.

The Palmers hope to continue serving the community to their best ability and offering things to meet their guests' needs. With the approval of their food permit within the near future, they are excited to offer a full drink menu and continue complimenting other businesses in town.