Bob CollinsKARE 11 has a sure sign of the changing Minnesota economy today. In Minnetonka, a locally-owned hardware store is closing; a brewery and taproom is going to replace it.
We’ve got plenty of taprooms now, but the neighborhood hardware store is vanishing in a hurry.
Kraemer’s True Value Hardware will close in December. The owner of the business, which has been around for 109 years, says it seems like a good time to retire.
“I’m sure I know at least half the people who come in here, I probably know their name,” John Kraemer said.
He’s going to invest in the new brewery, the plan for which was approved by the Minnetonka City Council last night.
Beer and breweries might be the new economy, but someday you’re going to need a thingamajig.
The owners of the new brewery are still looking for new investors, City Pages reported last month. In exchange for the cash, investors get two free beers a day. For life.
