River Heights Chamber of Commerce Awards The Coop with $22.1K Small Business Makeover

The River Heights Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with sponsors Pawn America Minnesota, LLC., Payday America, Xcel Energy and Dakota Electric Association awarded its first ever Small Business Makeover Contest Prize to The Coop Restaurant, on December 17, 2013 at Southview Country Club.  The Coop is located at 157 3rd Avenue South, in South St. Paul. Their family owned business was one of three finalists, out of nine candidates, who applied to win the River Heights Chamber’s Small Business Makeover Contest.

“We would like to thank the River Heights Chamber of Commerce and local sponsors for this opportunity.  Winning the marketing makeover contest was an exciting experience.  We look forward to developing a better website, working on a marketing strategy to increase our catering business, printing some new menu boards and making some much-needed cosmetic repairs.  Most of all, we look forward to working with the sponsors and listening to their ideas for The Coop," said Karen Hanson, owner of The Coop Restaurant.

The Small Business Makeover Contest ran from Oct. 16 - Nov. 15, 2013 where the Chamber received nine applications from local businesses.  The nine candidates were then challenged to rally their friends, family, customers and colleagues to vote for their business in an online Poll (Nov. 18-27) to create awareness, show community support and to work in conjunction with their application, which then assisted the Selection Committee in selecting one small business to win what ended up being a $22.1K Small Business Makeover!  “We knew that there are a lot of deserving businesses out there, but the results of the Contest and poll were astounding for our first year; we had nine entries with over 1160 votes, close to 2600 views, 230 shares and 250 Likes to the Chamber’s Facebook page, in 10 days,” stated Nicole Bengtson, Communications Manager of the River Heights Chamber of Commerce.

In this season of gratitude, we’d like to thank the following sponsors of the prize package, because without their donations, this makeover would not be possible.

Special Thanks to the 2013 Small Business Makeover Prize Sponsors:
Allrounder Remodeling
Endorse Communications, LLC
Ensemble Creative & Marketing, LLC
FASTSIGNS of Inver Grove Heights
Jon Erickson
Mahoney, Ulbrich, Christiansen & Russ PA
Protouch Painting, Inc. 
Staples Financial, Inc.
Tabor Communications Consulting
Ultimate Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning 

“This was an excellent opportunity for a small business in the River Heights area to gain access to TENS of THOUSANDS of dollars worth of services and products for FREE, and for supporting businesses (sponsors) to be promoted in the business community! This initiative is a great way to demonstrate your company's support of small business and a community outreach initiative,” noted Chuck Armstrong, Pawn America Minnesota (Platinum Sponsor).

“We were excited to offer this unique opportunity by holding a Small Business Makeover Contest to support the River Heights Chamber of Commerce's vision to promote the business community and the growth of an entrepreneur/local small business in our area, and we hope to be able to offer the Contest again with the same enthusiasm and gracious donations in 2014,” says Jennifer Gale, President of the River Heights Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber would like to share a brief bio of each of the three finalists. For more information, please contact the River Heights Chamber of Commerce at 651.451.2266 or the individual business can be found at www.riverheights.com.

Our first finalist was Angelo’s Italian Restaurant.  Angelo’s is a family owned and operated business, specializing in top rated pizzas and Italian pasta dishes. For over 40 years, they have been known for their quality food and service. In 1971, John and Pat Burbank opened Angelo's on 7th and Marie, and now they are located on 12th and Southview. John and Pat's children and grandchildren currently run the day to day operations. They offer both dine-in or delivery, as well as, catering services including the use their banquet room. Angelo’s shared, “Winning would mean everything! We are a third generation family run local business and we want to be here in South St. Paul for our 4th, 5th and 6th generation. We have wonderful customers and want to introduce our business to new patrons. No matter who the recipient is, this is a great contest and we thank you for spearheading it.”

Our second finalist was The Coop Restaurant.  The Coop is also a family owned business that has been located on the corner of 3rd Avenue and Southview Boulevard for 50 years.  The Hanson family purchased The Coop in 2001. They mainly are a take-out restaurant, however they offer dine-in seating and have catering services for any event or celebration. They have lots of faithful customers and feel that their customers are always #1. The Coop stated, “Winning the makeover would be wonderful. We have a sign in the restaurant that says, "Thank you for being a part of what we do". It’s the truth - we have been in business for 50 years and want to continue to be the little restaurant on the corner. Keep it Local - Shop Small and keep plugging along.”

And our final candidate was Hometown Meats.  They shared, “On a summer afternoon we wanted to put a ham on the grill while we were working outside, and after checking with several local stores found out that there were no hams available. We said,  “IGH needs a meat shop.”  We watched and waited until the right location was available and within 6 months we were open. Having grown up in IGH this was the only place we would start a business. With that Hometown Meats was born.” Hometown Meats is a full service retail fresh meat, seafood and deli shop along with offering specialty smoked meat products; they are located off of 80th & Cahill in Inver Grove Heights. They stated, “Winning this makeover would help us achieve our goal and opportunity to expand our store. The support that we have received from our families, friends, community and customers is truly exceptional and we couldn't be more proud to be a part of Inver Grove Heights business community. We look forward to many more years of serving Inver Grove Heights.”

“The Selection Committee thanks all the business who entered the Small Business Makeover Contest and the voting public, who’s input was used in conjunction with the applications to select the winner. The final three businesses all demonstrated a strong commitment to the communities they serve and decades of business presence in the South St Paul and Inver Grove Heights area. In selecting a winner, many factors are considered including a clear need for improvement, the ability to utilize the services offered in the contest, and the overall impact winning will bring to the business and the community. We wish we had three prize packages to award,” commented Kelton Glewwe of Roadware, Inc.

Congratulations to The Coop Restaurant in South St. Paul. We look forward to seeing the Makeover on your business in 2014!

Check out full details of the Contest, sponsors, rules and supporting businesses of the makeover prize package at www.RiverHeightsBizMakeover.com or call 651.451.2266!

About River Heights Chamber of Commerce
The River Heights Chamber of Commerce is a business organization who aggressively promotes the interests of the business communities of Inver Grove Heights and South St. Paul. The organization is volunteer driven and strives to attract and retain businesses to keep the business community thriving. The River Heights Chamber continues to provide value-added opportunities for all members. Visit our website www.riverheights.com to learn more!

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