General Store at Frontier Village opens after being closed for 3 years
May 29—JAMESTOWN — Ice cream, dessert bars, kuchen and pies are some of the first things that visitors will see when they walk into the revamped General Store at Frontier Village in Jamestown.
"If you have family coming to town, you better make sure they come get an ice cream cone," said Allison Limke, visitor experience manager, Jamestown Tourism.
The General Store at Frontier Village officially opened after three years of being closed. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Friday, May 26, to mark the opening.
"We are excited," said Emily Bivens, executive director for the Jamestown Area Chamber of Commerce and Jamestown Tourism, before the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Mayor Dwaine Heinrich said he is thankful and appreciative of the individuals who have stepped up and made it possible for the General Store to open again. He said the General Store will enhance the visitor experience and help defray the cost of operating the Frontier Village.
"The (Jamestown) Tourism folks have been looking after the Village now for about three years," he said. "I just think everyone has done a very good job."
The General Store will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Sept. 17, the last day the Frontier Village is open this year. The Frontier Village gets about 135,000 visitors from Memorial Day weekend to mid-September, Biven said.
Half of the General Store includes food and refreshments for purchase. The food items and refreshments include ice cream, dessert bars, kuchen, pies and root beer from Drift Prairie Brewing Co.
The other half of the store includes souvenirs and products from North Dakota. The store includes products from Buffalo City Popcorn, Dot's Homestyle Pretzels, Buffalo City Bees, North Dakota Thunderbird Ranch Gourmet Foods & Dakota Seasonings, Berry Dakota and Dakota Dirt Coffee Co.
"We have a lot of North Dakota represented in our store," Limke said. "Our other souvenirs like stickers and postcards really represent the Frontier Village and Jamestown."
Frontier Village-themed and Jamestown-themed T-shirts and sweatshirts will be sold as well.
Renovations and restoration of the buildings at Frontier Village were funded through grants and Coronavirus Aide, Relief and Economic Security Act dollars, Bivens said.
Limke said a laminate floor was added in the General Store along with sinks for food and safety requirements, a cooler for ice cream, a bakery case, fridge, freezer, ice machine and a kegerator. She also said the store has been rearranged.
"When you first walked in before, you came upon one long aisle of a counter," she said. "Now when you walk in, the first thing you see is the ice cream case. We added an island countertop to have a little more seating, and then each little nook of our windows has a table with four chairs around it."
On the outside of the store, the deck was redone, a staircase was added and the ramp was fixed to make the store compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"We can really welcome all visitors," Bivens said.
The General Store is operated by Jamestown Tourism and is expected to be a revenue source to help defray the expenses of running the Frontier Village.
"Hopefully, eventually this becomes a revenue source that helps make the Frontier Village sustainable on its own," Bivens said.
Earlier this year, the Jamestown City Council approved Jamestown Tourism's request for $30,000 to be used for startup inventory at the General Store. Bivens said the request was hopefully only a one-time request for the startup of the store.
Heinrich said an investment for the store was needed because "it takes money to make money."
"I don't know what other source we would have had at that time to make that investment to provide goods to be sold," he said. "I'm just confident that that money, that investment will generate profits that will help sustain this in the future."
