Business & Tech

Running A Neighborhood Business From 1,500 Miles Away

We're renowned for our tight neighborhoods. But sometimes, those connections are longer-distance than we think.

On a quiet corner in Tangletown sit two quintessential Minneapolis neighborhood shops. Despite their status as local favorites, you'd never guess that both owners have a 1,500-mile commute to work.

Lisa Gilroyed of lives in California with her husband. When she's not working a full-time job in California and raising two kids, she surfs between New York wholesalers, Los Angeles flea markets, and Minnesota barn sales to find the art, "shabby chic" furniture, and assorted decorative odds and ends that fill her popular store, like old back-light eye charts or a pair of vintage water skis.

Neither that nor her limited hours—one multi-day sale per month—have stopped the neighborhood from embracing her.

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"We'll be here in the evening, and there's this one lovely woman who'll drive by, stop in, and ask us if we want dinner," Gilroyed said. "It's so fun with neighbors like that."

Her schedule may seem hectic, but Gilroyed said she finds it fun and fulfilling, and despite all the traveling she does for the shop she calls her "hobby," Gilroyed said she rarely runs into problems. Even in one of last year's snowstorms, her flight went smoothly. 

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"We've had great luck," she said. 

Artsy Digs and neighbor Pout are this weekend.


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