ST. CLOUD — While 2018 marked the coming loss of one of St. Cloud's largest employers, it also brought news of highly-anticipated retail openings, expansions at area companies and new ownership of some favorite local businesses.
The biggest business news of the year broke early when Electrolux announced in January it would end production at its St. Cloud facility after 2019. Then Herberger's — which got its start in St. Cloud — ended its run as parent company, Bon-Ton Stores Inc., failed to find a buyer after filing for bankruptcy.
But it wasn't all bad news in 2018. Local companies like Coborn's, DeZURIK and Marco announced acquisitions and expansions.
More: Marco's rapid growth strategy brings it to the East Coast — with no plans to slow down
Renovations began at the former Sears store at Crossroads Center to convert the anchor store into smaller retail spaces, and Costco broke ground and started construction on its wholesale warehouse set to open in 2019.
Here's a month-by-month look at the biggest St. Cloud business news that happened this year:
January
Electrolux announced it would cease production at its St. Cloud facility after 2019. The freezer manufacturer was the city's fifth-largest employer in 2018 with nearly 900 employees.
The closure followed an announcement that Electrolux would be investing $250 million to modernize and expand its Anderson, S.C. plant where it will consolidate its upright freezer production.
No specific closing date was set, but the company said production will continue at the St. Cloud facility through 2019.
More: Electrolux to close St. Cloud facility, production to end after 2019; 900 jobs affected
February
Pilgrim's Pride (formerly Gold'n Plump Poultry) said it would close its St. Cloud administrative office. The closure affected 30 jobs and came just one year after Pilgrim's Pride Corp. acquired St. Cloud-based GNP.
More: Pilgrim's Pride closing St. Cloud administrative office, 30 jobs affected
After Electrolux announced it would close and consolidate its St. Cloud freezer manufacturing operation to Anderson, S.C., the Times discovered that Anderson County approved generous financial incentives for an expansion of the Electrolux plant there.
Transcripts from a May 2017 Anderson County Council meeting suggested the county made the agreement to keep Electrolux from leaving the county or possibly moving its production to Mexico.
More: South Carolina county gave Electrolux massive incentive for expansion
March
Kurt Scepaniak couldn't find the workers he needed, so he decided to create his own workforce. The Horizon Roofing President and CEO opened a 2,500-square-foot training facility in Waite Park that provides free, weeklong roofing training programs to interested applicants.
More: Can't find workers? Create the workforce you need: Horizon Roofing opens training center
St. Cloud-based Beaver Island Brewing made its debut in the Twin Cities beer market. Co-founder Nick Barth said the expansion in distribution nearly doubled the availability of Beaver Island beer.
More: Beaver Island Brewing splashes down in the Twin Cities, expands distribution
DeZURIK Inc. announced plans to expand production at its Sartell headquarters. The company expects to hire approximately 30 highly-skilled employees and make capital investments to its Sartell facility to make room for expanded production capacity.
As part of the operational change, the company said it would phase out production at its Schaumburg, Ill. facility. Roughly two-thirds of that production will move to Sartell and the remaining volume will move to a new rapid fulfillment facility near Houston, Texas. The transition is expected to be completed by March 2019.
More: DeZURIK announces Sartell manufacturing expansion, new Houston, Texas fulfillment facility
More: Wonder what happens at DeZURIK? Take a tour in honor of Sartell plant's 90th anniversary
April
Bon-Ton Stores Inc. announced the closure of all Herberger's stores nationwide. Bon-Ton filed for bankruptcy in February and had been searching for a buyer that would allow it to stay in business.
Herberger's got its start in St. Cloud when Bob Herberger founded the Herberger-Hart Co. in 1927 and G.R. Herberger's Inc. department stores in 1942. Herberger sold the company to key employees in 1972. In 1998 it was sold to Proffitt's Inc., which merged with Saks Holdings Inc. later that year. Bon-Ton took ownership of Herberger's in 2005.
More: Herberger's closing marks end of era for downtown St. Cloud
More: Herberger employees prep for store closure, after 30 years of working together
The impact of the impending Electrolux closure is estimated to effect 1,800 jobs, $102.6 million in labor income and $670.1 million in economic output, according to an analysis by the School of Public Affairs Research Institute at St. Cloud State University in conjunction with University of Minnesota Extension Service.
More: Estimate sets Electrolux closure ripple effect at 1,800 jobs and $670.1M economic output
Otsego-based Jump City announced it would open a Waite Park location, filling a void left after Bounce Adventure closed to the frustration of many area parents. The new indoor inflatable experience opened in the summer of 2018.
More: Jump City bouncing into St. Cloud this summer, will open in former Bounce Adventure space
May
Capital One announced plans to eliminate positions at its downtown St. Cloud office. The company said fewer than 25 associates would be impacted and the eliminated positions were part of the company's tech engineering team.
More: Capital One announces another round of layoffs in St. Cloud
Territory Golf Club came under new ownership, but it was by familiar faces that golf course regulars would easily recognize. Dan and Jess Stang purchased the golf club. Dan had been Territory Golf Club's superintendent and general manager for the past 14 years.
More: New owners are 'On Par' with Territory Golf Club's operations
June
In the wake of Electrolux's planned 2019 closure, the city's Economic Development Authority applied for a federal grant to assist in retaining jobs and growing businesses in St. Cloud.
The funding would be used to hire an Economic Recovery Coordinator who will be responsible for facilitating a two-year program to keep more jobs in the area and build relationships with companies headquartered outside of Minnesota
More: Could a grant-funded Economic Recovery Coordinator help retain jobs in St. Cloud?
July
Costco officially closed on the purchase of about 19 acres of Heritage Park from the city of St. Cloud. Construction on the 153,000-square-foot warehouse, 9,000-square-foot liquor store and a gas station began shortly after. Costco is expected to open summer 2019.
More: Costco officially closes on purchase of 19 acres of Heritage Park; road work begins soon
Executive Express opened its new Waite Park transit hub. Larry Logeman, who bought the company in 2005, started with 11 employees and five vehicles transporting customers to and from MSP five times a day. In 2018, Executive Express had more than 120 employees, 57 vehicles and made 18 trips to the airport each day.
More: Executive Express opens transit hub in Waite Park, puts customer experience first
Pioneer Place on Fifth and the Veranda Lounge were able to come under new ownership after a change to city ordinance increased the number of on-sale liquor licenses the city can issue to one person.
The downtown St. Cloud bar and performance space were bought by Ray Herrington, who also co-owns Boulder Tap House and 7 West Tap House, and business partners in the Letnes Restaurant Group, Pete Poepping and Steve Letnes, who co-own Grizzly's Wood-Fired Grill & Bar and Olde Brick House.
More: Veranda Lounge being sold, city documents say
More: Pioneer Place Theatre Co. goes dark under new venue ownership
August
More and more stores in the St. Cloud metro area — and the nation — started selling CBD and touting its pain-relieving and anxiety-reducing benefits in 2018. But is it safe, is it legal and does it really work? In August, the Times spoke with local business owners, law enforcement and healthcare providers to find out.
More: More stores are selling CBD in St. Cloud, but is it safe, is it legal and does it work?
Herberger's in downtown St. Cloud closed its doors for good Aug. 29. The retailer's headquarters were also located in downtown St. Cloud until 2000, when then-parent company Saks consolidated management and distribution work to Milwaukee, Wisc.
More: Herberger's final day in downtown St. Cloud is Wednesday
September
Nine months after Sears closed its doors at Crossroads Center in January, renovations began to turn the former anchor store into four new tenant spaces. Building permits issued by the city have hinted that HomeGoods will fill one of the new spaces.
More: Former Sears space in Crossroads Center undergoing renovation, will be split into four shops
More: HomeGoods could be coming to St. Cloud Crossroads Center
Bad Habit Brewing in St. Joseph announced it would be moving to the former city hall building. The new building more than quadruples the brewery's space and is expected to open by spring 2019.
More: Bad Habit Brewing moving to old City Hall building, plans to open spring 2019
October
Employers seeking seasonal workers had an even harder time than usual finding help thanks in part to the state's low unemployment rate. According to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, there were more job vacancies in greater Minnesota than unemployed people for the first time since DEED started tracking job vacancies 17 years ago.
More: In tight labor market, companies with increased holiday demand may struggle hiring workers
November
Construction of new retail spaces and restaurants started on Division Street at the site of the former St. Cloud Subaru dealership. Three tenants have been announced for the first phase of development: Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers, Qdoba Mexican Eats and Sport Clips.
Signage posted at the construction site show phases two and three of the development that will replace a strip mall and the old Salvation Army building on that block.
More: 2 new restaurants announced for retail development on Division Street
Avian influenza was detected in a Stearns County turkey flock, but luckily it was not the same strain of the virus that impacted more than 9 million birds in Minnesota in the spring of 2015. A total of eight flocks were infected in Minnesota: four in Stearns County and four in Kandiyohi County.
As of Dec. 27, all but one flock has since tested negative for the virus and been control marketed, according to the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.
More: Avian influenza detected in Stearns County turkey flock
More: Two area turkey flocks cleared of avian influenza
Marco, the St. Cloud-based provider of copiers, printers and managed IT services, expanded to the East Coast. The company has made 42 acquisitions to date, and its purchase of Phillips Office Solutions was its first outside of the Midwest.
More: Marco's rapid growth strategy brings it to the East Coast — with no plans to slow down
Just in time for holiday shopping, the "Greater St. Cloud Area Opoly Game" became a reality after Tom Dukowitz, a 65-year-old St. Cloud native, banded together with local businesses to produce a locally-themed property trading game.
Paramount Theater is the "free parking" space. Lutgen Companies sponsored the "Go" space. And if you land on the space owned by Manea's Meats, you'll be sent straight to "jail," which is sponsored by Old Capital Tavern.
More: 'Greater St. Cloud Area Opoly' gives players a chance to buy up local businesses
December
St. Cloud-based Coborn's, Inc. acquired a Fargo-Moorhead area grocery chain called Hornbacher's. The purchase included five stores in Fargo, two Moorhead stores and an additional store in West Fargo that is under construction.
More: Coborn's acquires Fargo-area grocer Hornbacher's
CentraCare announced it is closing Passages, a residential treatment facility that provides extended care and halfway house programming for chemically-dependent men. Passages stopped accepting new patients Dec. 7 and is set to close March 1 after the last client completes treatment.
CentraCare stated it was expanding and restructuring its Recovery Plus programming to include additional outpatient services by March 2019 for adults with substance use disorders. Exact details regarding staff restructuring with these changes is still unknown.
More: CentraCare closing Passages halfway house for chemical dependency treatment
Have a tip about business news in the St. Cloud area? Contact Anna at ahaecherl@stcloudtimes.com or 320-259-3662. Follow Anna on Twitter @AnnaHaecherl
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