The Blue Moose has new owners

Teri Chilefone and James Coleman are the new owners of The Blue Moose. Staff photo Brian Larsen

Teri Chilefone and James Coleman are the new owners of The Blue Moose. The Lutsen couple closed the purchase on June 17 and so far have renovated one large cabin with more cabin renovations to come.

Plus, they are planning to add ten-long term house rentals to the property, with plans to expand the greenhouse. But as far as making changes to the general business?

“No. We love what Bill Doucette and his wife have done. We want to honor their legacy and run it much the same. We’re happy to say that Renae, the general manager, has agreed to stay on and run the business, and we will help her in any way that we can,” Teri said.

Located at 1301 Highway 61 West, just half a mile from downtown Grand Marais, The Blue Moose is an outdoor garden center featuring two indoor shops. The lower building is a garden shop with a full line of trees, shrubs, perennials, native plants, annuals, house plants, and tropical air plants. Organic soil and fertilizers are also on hand. Landscaping services are also available and special plant orders can be made. The upper building features local artists’ works, pottery, jewelry, stained glass, and a Christmas room. Both shops carry vintage antiques.

The outdoor space is magical. The sounds of wind chimes mix with the sweet, pungent pageantry of the flowers. There are unusual planters, hanging baskets, and garden art on the grounds. And if you are looking for miniature fairy garden supplies? This is the place to go. There is also an array of unique metal and hand-blown glass garden art, birch bark baskets, hand-crafted wood items, flowers, shrubs, native plants, perennials, house plants, and tropical air plants.

As far as the rental cabins, the goal is to refurbish them and keep the rent as low as possible. “We want to cover our costs, but we want people to be able to afford to live and work here,” James said.

“My job is to renovate the five cabins and build new long-term rental housing,”

James said. “We can add ten more houses to our property under the zoning laws, and we plan to rent them all out for long-term rentals. We want to make them affordable for people to live in.”

The couple has experience in renovation. Teri said she and James bought The Mountain Inn two-and-one-half years ago and renovated the 29 rooms. The business was purchased by Odyssey Resorts this spring.