Past Businesses of Minot –

 Family Furniture – located ½ block north of the old YMCA on 1^st Street in Downtown Minot …..   Wylie Piano Company – 117 West Central Avenue – Authorized Baldwin dealer for western North Dakota …..  Minot Federal Savings & Loan – 24 West Central Avenue – established in 1935  ….. Mr Steak Restaurant – on top of Minot’s North Hill – Next to North Hill Bowl ….. Big Bear Store – located on North Main Street – next to what is now 10 North Main – sold western clothing and sporting goods for the hunter and fisherman. Big Bear then moved out to South Broadway at the intersection of 31^st Avenue, where the Gas Stop is now

Mr. Steak - Grand opening ribbon cutting 

Ellison's The Fair Dept. Store

The first Fair Store was opened in Minot in 1902 on Main Street, in a location next to and south of what is now Western paint. It was like most stores of the time with a 25 foot frontage. In 1910 the Ellisons moved the store a block south into a new building known as The Fair Block, just south of the intersection of Main Street and 2^nd Avenue. In 1929 a newer building was added at the corner and adjacent to The Fair Block. The new building, a large 2 story building with a basement eventually incorporated The Fair Block in 1955 giving Ellisons a 100 foot store front on Main Street. During the Diamond Jubilee in 1961, Ellisons ran a contest to see who could bring in the oldest sales slip showing merchandise purchased at the store. The winner received a wool blanket…. Unfortunately I do not know who won or how old the receipt was. Pictured below: an early views of The Fair Store about 1910. The 2nd picture is the original concept for the Ellison Store. It was to be 5 stories with offices on the top floors. When construction began on the Valker-Christianson office complex, (which was never completed until 20+ years later when Clarence Parker bought it and it became the Clarence Parker Hotel), the top two floors were never added. The last picture shows Ellisons in the 50's. 

National Grocery Store –

 The National Grocery Store was on the southwest corner of 2^nd Street and 4^th Avenue SW… the intersection now known as Burdick Expressway and Broadway. The Building was built to be a grocery store.  After National Food closed, the building went through a number of owners and various businesses. For a short time after the National Grocery closed the building was home to a case lot, wholesale type store. The when the Ace Hardware Store on 1^st Street in downtown Minot lost their building to the construction of a parking lot, it became Ace Hardware. Then Scheel’s Hardware & Sporting Goods. In the early days of Scheel’s, they were more hardware than sporting goods. After Scheel’s moved out, Schlotsky’s Deli occupied the north part of the building. The other side of the building was home to Tom’s Home Furnishings, a smaller furniture store.  Later, the building was purchased by and became the home of Zimmerman’s furniture. This is now the site of Mattress Firm

SS Kresge Store –

 The Kresge Store was just south of the Woolworth . If I remember correctly from my Kresge history I learned during my 20 years working for Kmart, there were two Kresge Stores, The Dollar Store and Five & Dime Store. The Five & Dime was the early days version of the discount store.  Eventually both were combined into the Jupiter Store. There was at one time a snack bar or cafeteria in the Jupiter Store. Many remember the wooden floors that were somewhat warped and creaked when you walked on them…The huge, oak icebox that was in the basement is now in my basement. I was told if I could get it out of the store when Jupiter closed, I could have it… he icebox actually was bolted together and was easy to disassemble. The refrigeration unit was shot and some of the base had to be rebuilt. When Kresge established the Kmart store chain, one of the names considered before the Kmart name was picked was Jupiter. Some speculate that had Kresge used the Jupiter name, the chain of stores would not have achieved the success enjoyed by Kmart. The Kresge location later became Western Paint & Glass and is now the home of Downtown Books

SS Kresge Store 1928

Past Businesses of Minot–

Duck-In Beauty Shop – 1614 4^th Avenue SE – Edith Bondly – proprietor ….. T&T Tire Service – Highway 83 North – Sold US Royal tires ….. Westland Oil Company – Operated gas stations throughout Minot and the area. The Westland Refinery was located at Williston but the home office was on Central Avenue in Minot ….. Parker Motor Company – established in 1922 – located on 1^st Avenue SE (across from the old YMCA). On the top floor of the Parker Motor Company was the Parker Auditorium. The Auditorium was the home to many conventions and when not used for that had a roller skating rink. 

1961 Predictions for the Future

NSP – Look into the Future – In 1961 NSP placed an advertisement in the newspaper predicting some of the things that would come to be in the future….. some of these were Instant checkout in stores – Electronic devices will scan purchases and add the bills to give you your total due ….. Automatic Cleaner – A machine that will vacuum, wash, rinse, dry and wax floors by itself then scoot back to the its niche in the baseboard , empty any waste and wait for the next job…… Automatic Wall Painter – Walls will be built with panels that incorporate a chemical that will change color when electricity is applied….. change your wall colors to match your mood……. Cooling Blanket – A blanket that will heat and/or cool at your discretion ….. Make Disposable Tableware - with a touch of the dial and throw them away afterwards – or If using your finest china, you will be able to clean and sterilize in 3 minutes with ultrasonic waves.

Do You Remember These?

Jay’s Men’s and Boy’s Store – This was located on the west side of Main Street in the 60’s. It was in the middle of the block between 1^st Avenue and 2^nd Avenue.  Jay’s Clothing Store was owned by Jay Obedin. His oldest son Elliot pretty much ran the store. Jay’s was a full line men’s clothing store with two levels, the main floor and the basement.

South Hill Grocery – South Hill Grocery was located on top of Main Street on South Hill on 8^th Avenue. South Hill Grocery was a typical neighborhood grocery store. If you lived in the neighborhood, they would carry your groceries home for you, if needed.