Opening her own Maple Grove Business is a Dream Come True

For Osseo mother Erin Hente, the opening of Children’s Orchard and NTY Clothing Exchange will fulfill a longtime dream of owning her own business. The businesses open Thursday.

Two side-by-side stores

If your children grow out of clothes before the clothing goes out of style, those items could find new life at two new Maple Grove stores. Children’s Orchard sells gently-used, high quality clothes and shoes as well as toys and equipment. NTY Clothing Exchange has high-end, resale clothing for teens and young adults. The stores are a part of NTY Franchise Company, which also has Clothes Mentor, New Uses, and Device Pitstop.

The stores will open July 26 at 13621-13625 Grove Drive in Maple Grove. The first customers in the stores will receive gift cards and there will be other celebratory events throughout the course of the weekend.

A Delayed Dream for Erin Hente

Erin Hente, who lives in Osseo and grew up locally, says opening the stores has been an adventure. She and her husband, Andy, often talked about owning their own business.

“We knew we wanted to open a business,” says Erin. “We just didn’t know what that would look like or what industry we were going to get into. It was an idea we had.”

Sadly, that dream never happened. A deadly accident at work killed her husband. Erin grieved and kept thinking about the dream of opening her own business. She investigated franchise opportunities and landed on two resale store opportunities. Not only does buying and selling high-quality clothes help families financially, items that are not accepted or not sold can be passed on to a local nonprofit.

“For me, it wasn’t just a matter of opening stores, it was a matter of how we can give back and partner with our community,” says Erin. “I wanted to make a difference and I know he wanted that as well.”