When the Foy family opened Design Consign in the old First National Bank building on South Sixth Street, Matt Foy pulled out the drop ceilings and uncovered windows that had been hidden for years. The Brainerd Dispatch reported at the time that he wanted "to expose as much of the original as I could." The restoration took him 62 days. Fourteen years later, Design Consign held its retirement sale, and that restored banking hall is now home to a different shop.

That room is one of several downtown spaces that changed hands this year. Each time, a locally run business followed another into the same space. In one case, a store that closed also sent its merchandise down the street to its neighbors. If your holiday list starts downtown, it helps to know who is in each space now.

The Bank Building on South Sixth

Steve and Julie Foy and their son Matt opened the 6,500-square-foot Design Consign in 2012. According to the Dispatch's June 5 Biz Buzz, the store closed ahead of a retirement sale on June 12–14, 2026, where everything had to go.

By mid-August the space had a new tenant lined up. The Iron Horse, which carries home decor, furniture and gifts, announced on Facebook that it would open Oct. 17 in the same building. The name refers to the early steam locomotives and the Northern Pacific Railroad's role in founding Brainerd. The owners also explained the horse in their logo in that Facebook post, which the Dispatch quoted: "But behind every Iron Horse was an actual one. A living breathing animal, hauling the equipment and breaking the ground that made it all possible which is why we chose to honor both with our logo and name."

The grand opening was set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17, on Camp Nisswa's weekend events roundup. Its regular hours have not been posted yet, so check The Iron Horse's Facebook page before a weekday visit.

Design Consign sold home furnishings, furniture, decor, jewelry and art. The Iron Horse sells home decor, furniture and gifts. If you used to shop that building for a sideboard or a hostess gift, you can still do that, from a different owner.

The Eighth Street Storefront, Twice Reoccupied

Two blocks over, a South Eighth Street storefront has housed two businesses in about a year.

It first filled after the Front Street fire on June 4, 2025. That fire displaced three businesses from one building: Front Street Cafe, Thairapy Lash & Beauty Bar and Fusion Jewelry Studio. The cafe and the salon reopened in their original spaces that August. Fusion Jewelry Studio moved to 217 S. Eighth St. in September, according to the Dispatch's 2025 year-end recap.

That Eighth Street space is now Dal Furniture and Restoration, which opened Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. The Dispatch's Oct. 2 Biz Buzz reported that the business had spent two years working out of a garage before moving into this space, the former home of Fusion Jewelry Studio. The owners remodeled the interior and painted the building, and crews were hanging the sign the day before the opening.

The business describes its stock as "refurbished and restored furniture, antiques, vintage pieces, home décor, rugs, unique finds, and plenty of things you might not expect to find." With The Iron Horse two blocks away, downtown now has two furniture-and-decor shops that opened within about three weeks of each other this fall. One focuses on restoration and vintage pieces, and the other on new decor and gifts.

A Bookstore With Coffee and Parakeets on Front Street

The earliest of this year's openings fills a gap downtown had been missing. Erica Bordwell opened Books and Botanicals at 816 Front St. on Aug. 8, 2026, selling books, plants and gifts. Bordwell grew up in Brainerd, attended Garfield Elementary and teaches fourth grade at Baxter Elementary. She told the Dispatch that opening a bookstore had been her dream since childhood: "So books have always just been a connecting force for me."

The store offers free coffee and tea and has a couch where you can sit and stay a while. Two parakeets named Ivy and Ink live in the shop, and the Dispatch reported that children head straight for them. The shelves cover beach reads, romance, romantasy, mysteries and thrillers, plus children's books, and Bordwell plans to add more Minnesota authors.

On its website, the store lists hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. That makes it one of the few downtown stops open on a Sunday afternoon in December.

Where the Visit Brainerd Gift Lines Went

The one closing this year that did not bring in a new tenant was the Visit Brainerd Gift Store on South Seventh Street. It closed Aug. 22, 2026. A sign on the door thanked shoppers for "6.75 wonderful years in Downtown Brainerd."

Its Minnesota-themed merchandise did not disappear. The Dispatch reported that some of those lines were moving to other downtown shops and to one store in Baxter:

• The Olde Open Window, 602 Laurel St., which sells vintage-inspired clothing and accessories, primitives, antiques, candles, and locally made and seasonal gifts
• The 218 Urban Nest, 710 Laurel St., which sells clothing, accessories, home decor and gifts
• Little Threads Kidswear Boutique, 706 Laurel St., a pre-loved children's clothing and gear shop that Madeline Johnson opened in 2025, according to a North Central SBDC profile
• Christmas Point in Baxter

Three of the four are within a block of each other on Laurel Street. If you used to buy the Minnesota sweatshirt or Brainerd-branded mug on Seventh Street, start your search on Laurel.

A few other pieces of the gift store also moved. Visit Brainerd's marketing office and visitor information services relocated to 14410 Golf Course Drive in Baxter, in the building with Panache Salon and Day Spa. Brainerd History Group walks are now available by appointment only. The Save the Water Tower merchandise that the gift store featured will be sold at community events.

The Year's Handoffs, Space by Space

What Opened on the Baxter Side Instead

New openings on the Baxter side of Highway 210 this fall look different. They are national brands, and most went into new construction or reworked mall space.

• 7 Brew, a 510-square-foot drive-through drink stand just off Highway 210 in front of Westgate Mall with no indoor seating, was expected to open Oct. 19, 2026, according to the Dispatch.
• Ollie's Bargain Outlet scheduled its grand opening for Oct. 28 in Westgate Mall. To give the store an outside entrance, part of the mall's interior was closed, and the store extends from Ashley Furniture west into part of the former JoAnn Fabrics space, which Spirit Halloween is using for the season.
• Panera Bread, in front of Costco, was finishing its landscaping at the end of September ahead of an expected fall opening. The Dispatch reported planned hours of 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday, with a drive-through and patio reached from Elder Drive and Forthun Road.

So far, the two areas have grown in different ways. Baxter's additions this fall are chains on new pads and in mall space. Downtown Brainerd's additions are owner-run shops moving into older buildings that other local owners just left: the bank hall the Foys restored, the Eighth Street space Fusion used after the fire, and a brick front on Front Street with big windows. Downtown also absorbed the Seventh Street gift store's inventory.

For holiday shopping this season, a downtown loop could run from Books and Botanicals on Front Street up to the Laurel Street shops, then over to The Iron Horse on Sixth and Dal on Eighth. Every stop on that route is a different shop than it was this time last year or is newly carrying merchandise from a store that closed.

Historic buildings like the old First National Bank are part of what makes downtown Brainerd worth getting to know. At Northland Sotheby's International Realty, we follow how the Brainerd Lakes area's main streets change from season to season. If you'd like a local perspective on where to shop, dine, or eventually put down roots across the region, our team would be glad to help you start your lake home journey.