Princeton is about to get a little bit sweeter with the upcoming opening of North Country Market on Rum River Drive.
The old-fashioned-style general store originally opened in Braham in October 2023 by the hands of Princeton resident Janet Keller.
Keller always knew she eventually wanted to open a general store after visiting similar places as a child.
“My goal has always been to have an old-fashioned general store,” Keller said. Since I was a little kid, I was going into old hardware stores and general stores, and that’s kind of been in my blood for a long time. I’m trying to recreate that old-fashioned, small-town feel.”
North Country Market was inspired by Keller’s dream and a book she read to her children 20 years ago called “The Legend of the Candy Cane” by Lori Walburg.
“It’s about a stranger who came to town and opened up a candy store teaching about the love of Jesus,” Keller said. “Little did I know, I was planting seeds with this book. God had a plan for this general store.”
The store sells items from candy, fudge, and pantry goods to gifts and home decor.
Before Keller opened the store in Braham, she worked as a job coach for people with disabilities and would travel across Minnesota to meet with her clients. On a visit to a client in Braham, Keller stumbled upon the storefront that later became her general store.
“I was the stranger that came to Braham and opened up a candy store,” Keller said. “I had a client in Braham, and I stumbled across this store front. Just for the fun of it I thought I would check it out. God had a plan, and next thing I knew I was signing papers for a store front. As soon as I got it set up, I left my day job and stepped right into this.”
One of the most popular items in the store is the homemade fudge that was originally made by Keller and her children.
The Ranger’s Homestyle Fudge was created to help Keller’s son raise funds to follow his dream of being a gun dog trainer and was named after her son’s dog.
“The fudge is Rangers Homestyle Fudge, and my kids and I were making it back in 2019. When COVID hit, we were still doing it and selling it in hardware stores,” Keller said. “When the kids graduated, I decided I wasn’t going to do the fudge anymore, so now I’ve got someone else making it for us with the same good recipe.”
Since opening North Country Market, Keller has found a love of interacting with and helping the people that come into the shop.
“I love the people. I just want to spread joy. My goal is to spread the love of Jesus and bring joy. The world we’re living in, everyone is pretty angry,” Keller said. “I want to sweeten people up with my candy. I want people to have a place where they can come in and have a reprieve from the world.”
Having been open in Braham for less than a year, Keller was not planning on moving the store anytime soon. But an opportunity in Princeton came up that Keller could not ignore.
“I was planning on staying in Braham, but just from talking to people in Princeton, I found out about a place that became available on main street and it hadn’t even been listed yet,” Keller said. “I’m happy to be coming back home; it’ll be great. Princeton is my home.”
One of Keller’s favorite things about Princeton is it’s small-town atmosphere, and she hopes to add to that by bringing North County Market to Rum River Drive.
“I love small towns, and the sense of community. I want to help Princeton grow as a community and work with all the other stores to do that and make it better,” Keller said. “I love to see small towns thrive. I love bringing people together.”
North Country Market is expected to open Thursday, June 6, in time for the Rum River Festival at 115 Rum River Drive.
The store will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, and closed on Sundays and Mondays.
To learn more about North Country Market, visit https://www.northcountrymarkets.com/.
Reach Chloe Smith at chloe.smith@apgecm.com
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