Chelsea Pusc will be spending the next two months selling her fine chocolates and other products she produces at Gunflint Mercantile from a storefront in Duluth at the Greysolon Plaza. Pusc won a contest sponsored by Duluth’s Greater Downtown Council to help entrepreneurs see if the Duluth marketplace is the right place for their products to be sold.
Duluth residents will soon have a chance to sample the sweet treats made by Gunflint Mercantile’s Chelsea Pusc.
On a whim, Pusc, owner/operator of Gunflint Mercantile in Grand Marais, entered Duluth’s Greater Downtown Council’s “pop-up” contest. Pusc said, “I was shocked when they told me I was selected.”
The program offers entrepreneurs free use of downtown storefronts for two to three months over the Christmas holidays.
Duluth’s Greater Downtown Council launched the program after partnering with owners of downtown buildings who had vacant storefronts.
Pusc will be located in the Greysolon Plaza. She will open another Gunflint Mercantile on November 30 and close her shop on January 10.
Although rent is free, all “pop-up” winners are expected to pay utility costs.
Greater Downtown Council President Kristi Stokes said that a panel of judges selected the winners and that more than 20 people submitted applications.
Selected business, said Stokes, must be complementary to the retail business mix in downtown Duluth, and fit appropriately with the space that is available.
Stokes said the program allows new business owners a chance to try their concepts out with the public before going too far into debt. Another hope is that successful entrepreneurs will want to stay in their spaces and sign leases with the building owners.
While Pusc is in Duluth her store in Grand Marais will be staffed and open on the weekends for business.
“I will take some of my aprons (handmade by Pusc and cute as anything), fudge and a few other items with me and open my shop in Duluth for the next couple of months,” said an excited Pusc.
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