Pedal Inn Antiques — in business in Becker for the last 15 years — will open its doors for the final time the weekend of Oct. 15-16.
Holly Neuman and Joan Bondhus, a business mother/daughter team, first opened doors for the store in 2001 after converting the building from a vintage bicycle shop to the current mercantile (hence the name, Pedal Inn).
“We are going to miss our local customers,” Holly said. “We’ve watched some of the little kids that have come in here over the years turn into teenagers and adults.”
Neuman and Bondhus sold the building and property to Larry Sperr of Hanover, who plans to convert the site into a bar/restaurant/cafe. Sperr plans to break ground yet this fall, so Neuman and Bondhus are hard at work dispensing of product and releasing vendors from their contracts.
“We are proud to say we’ve had two or three of our vendors go on to open their own stores over the years,” said Holly.
Joan has been in the antiquing business for over 30 years, but her health in recent years has limited her mobility and function at the store, so she was ready to move on. Holly is yet unsure about her immediate future but may in fact go back to school to study personalized medicine.
Joan and her husband John Bondhus started the Bondhus Corp. manufacturing company in Monticello over 50 years ago. Holly was an integral part of the business back then — even as a seven-year-old — making photocopies and running errands for her parents.
As she aged, Neuman studied graphic arts at Hennepin Technical College. She married in 1990 and moved to Wisconsin, where she had two daughters and served on the board of directors of a nonprofit center called Parent Place.
In 2000 she moved back to Minnesota to be closer to family. Together she and her husband, Dan, have five daughters and three grandchildren and live in Big Lake.
Currently, Bondhus and Neuman rent space to around 18 independent business owners who price their own wares and set up their own displays within the store.
“Most of our vendors do this as a hobby of sort,” said Holly.
About half of the store’s inventory is Holly and her mom’s while the vendors take up the other half. Holly and Joan also have a plethora of goods in the basement of the building that they have yet to price and put on display.
“We are going to do our best to sell everything we can the next few weeks,” said Holly. “But we may have to find a cheap, clean storage barn for a lot of the stuff that doesn’t sell.”
Larry Sperr plans to “gut” the store interior, but retain the ceiling, floors and some of the amenities for the future bar he envisions. The warehouse building will be converted to the restaurant and another building out back will transform into the kitchen. Sperr also plans to construct an outdoor patio for customers to enjoy an open-air feeling to their dining and drinking.
Over the years, Bondhus and Neuman have visited garage sales, yard sales and other antique stores to find items they could bring to Pedal Inn. They’ve accepted items brought in by customers who needed a little cash for their heirlooms. They’re known for antiques, but their store has been much more than that.
“We’ve sold some modern things too,” said Holly. “Toys, dolls, games and stuff like that. But we never took in really bad stuff and only looked to put on display items that were worthy and in relatively good condition.”
In 2012, Holly ran for an open seat on the Minnesota House of Representatives against Nick Zerwas of Elk River. Her platform was to be a voice for small business and to make health care records more accessible to adult children, after she was unable to get her father’s medical records following his death in 2006.
Neuman said Sen. Dave Brown carried a bill that would have helped the situation, but it narrowly missed passing the last session. Neuman testified at a committee hearing on the bill and intends to continue trying to get legislation enacted.
After her and her mom close the store, Holly said she’d like to do something worthwhile, like study Pharmacogenetics. Pharmacogenetics is the study of the role of the genome in drug response and deals with the influence of acquired and inherited genetic variation on drug response in patients. She has had personal experiences with family members who have had adverse reactions to prescribed drugs that potentially could have been fatal.
“I like helping people,” Holly said. “Even when at the store, I found it more satisfying to talk to people, listen to their stories and give advice. That kind of thing is way more important than just making money.”
Joan’s medical issues have compounded over the years and tody she is walking with the help of a cane from a knee injury. Holly says she is sure her mom is finally ready to take some time off from business and prepare for what else life holds for her in the future.
“She plans to write a book about her life,” said Holly. “Actually, she’s already started it, she just needs to sit down and write some more.”
Currently, all the vendors at the Pedal Inn store are featuring sales from 30-50% off items. Tuesday, (Oct. 11), Neuman and Bondhus will hold an open house from 5-7 p.m. to feature even more deals and more product they need to mete out.
Five days later, they’ll close their doors for good and move on with their lives.
“It’s been a fun business but it’s also a hard business,” said Holly. “It’s hard to make a living doing this kind of thing nowadays. So many people just don’t appreciate the old stuff from yesteryears. They’d rather just go to the WalMarts and Targets and get cheap, simply-made stuff.”
That’s what makes Pedal Inn Antiques one of those stores many will remember for years even after their doors close Oct. 16.
“There’s not enough people out there who appreciate the kind of product we bring in and sell,” she said. “I guess those kinds of people and those days are in the past.”
Holly and Joan invite all to their final days. Free cookies and coffee will be available as usual.
