Holiday Shopping ‘Very Important’ for Maple Grove Business

As the holiday shopping season ramps up, one local business is seeing all kinds of in-person traffic on Cyber Monday.

Inside what looks like an oversized cottage in Maple Grove is a winter wonderland. It’s a store called The Woods, which sells gifts, home decor and all sorts of Minnesota knickknacks.

“I come here maybe every other week, just to check it out and see what fun things there are,” said frequent shopper Kimberlee Brehm.

She can attest that it’s especially festive inside.

“They can bring you such joy. I know that the things here bring me a lot of joy, so I’m here a lot,” Brehm said.

At The Woods, the shelves are lined with gifts. Some are seasonal, some are tasty and some are sparkly. Brehm said she’s personally in search of collectibles. As compared to shopping Cyber Monday, Brehm said she prefers to find her collectibles in person.

“You can get a much better picture of what you’re getting when you actually have it in your hands,” she said.

Several customers check out at The Woods.

Dave Looney co-owns the shop with his wife, Linda. He said a big chunk of their business comes through at this time of year.

“November and December is about 45 percent of our year’s business. So, it’s very important,” Looney said.

Looney said while customers rolled in for Small Business Saturday specials, the biggest driver for their business this year was relief.

“We were down just a little bit until the election was over,” Looney said. “I felt like suddenly the anxiety was lifted, and everybody has been out shopping like crazy.”

With the seasonal decorating, it’s almost like another world inside the shop.

“Nobody does Christmas like The Woods,” Looney said proudly.

One of the most frequent customers, Ann Megrund, took her love to the next level.

“I tend to like to shop, so I actually got a job here. Just recently, even. So that’s been a lot of fun,” Megrund said.

For her, her favorite part is the Minnesota focus: both in art, and in artists.

“Support shopping locally and small businesses,” Megrund said.

The Woods in Maple Grove had an especially busy parking lot on Wednesday afternoon.

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