Duluth Stores Prepare for Curbside Pickup to Start May 4th

Zenith Bookstore and Dungeon's End Game Store among many statewide businesses to offer curbside pickup

DULUTH, Minn. – Retail and other non-essential businesses in Minnesota can reopen for curbside pickup and delivery starting May 4th if they take certain precautions.

Many Minnesota businesses have been closed for more than a month under the state’s Stay at Home Order. While those shops still can’t open their doors to customers for at least two more weeks, they’re getting ready for curbside pickup to start soon.

“We’ll be ready to go Monday morning as soon as we open,” said Mason Froberg, co-owner of Dungeon’s End Game Store in West Duluth.

Froberg is exited for his shop to offer curbside sales for the first time ever.

“I think it’s always a better experience to be able to be able to shop in the store but, considering the current situation, we’re definitely excited to be able to offer something to our customers who want to purchase our products,” he said.

The staff at Dungeon’s End used the shutdown to take  care of long-overdue projects like rearranging and cleaning the shop. Plus, they started posting products on the web for online and curbside orders.

“They can actually go onto our website and check that out and shop and purchase it there, and choose a curbside option and we can bring it out to them,” explained Froberg.

Meanwhile, right across Central Avenue, Zenith Bookstore has been sending out a lot of online deliveries during the Stay at Home Order.

“Our online orders in the last two months have increased by about twenty-fold,” said Zenith co-owner Bob Dobrow.

He tells us the store is getting creative during the shutdown, offering customers something called ‘mystery boxes’ delivered right to their door.

“They give us a few clues of the type of book or genre or author they like and then we put together, we curate a set of books, and we have either small, medium, or large mystery boxes,” explained Dobrow.

Zenith has been selling nearly as many books as usual, but Dubrow says business isn’t the same without interacting with his supportive community.

“We miss our customers very much,” he said. “A lot of our customers miss us very much, so we’re getting a little closer to each other while maintaining social distancing.”

Gov. Walz extended Minnesota’s Stay at Home Order to May 18th, saying the extension will slow the spread of the virus and protect front line workers.

He is also recommending all Minnesotans wear masks when leaving their homes whenever possible.