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Mandan Drug to get new owners, name |
December 22, 2006
You can't teach 16 years of chocolate making in two weeks.
But when the new owner of Mandan Drug dipped her first potato chip in that molten, dark chocolate, it was a perfect match.
"She did great; she did super,"said Debbie Kruger, former owner of Mandan Drug.
At 11:30 a.m. today, Mandan Drug will officially change hands. Rusty and Debbie Kruger, who owned the Mandan mainstay since 1982, will pass the keys to new owners Nikki and Lance Mindt and Bob and Lynn Gustafson.
Regulars will notice the absence of the pharmacy, which was sold to Thrifty White in November.And with no pharmacy in the store, the most notable initial change will be in the name:Without a pharmacy, the new owners must change the name from Mandan Drug, said Nikki Mindt.
So in a tribute to Debbie Kruger's famous chocolates, the store formerly known as Mandan Drug will be Lindy Sue's Candies & Soda Fountain.
"That's quite a compliment,"said Rusty Kruger of naming the store after the chocolates.
Nikki Mindt has other changes planned, though, to better serve her customers, new and old. They want to add some new delivery, and create some easy access for pickups. And for Valentine's Day, they hope to have a chocolate kiosk in Kirkwood Mall, Mindt said.
"We just really want to continue in the tradition they've already started,"Mindt said. "We don't want to make too many changes, but we're looking to expand, of course."
Nikki and Lance Mindt are both from North Dakota and have lived in Mandan for two years. They were frequent visitors to the Mandan staple, and when talk about its sale started circulating, the Gustafsons contacted the Mindts and convinced them it would be a good fit, Nikki Mindt said.
And the Gustafsons are excited to be part of the process, too, Mindt said.
"They own the Medicine Shoppe in Mandan, so I have lots of help,"Mindt said. "They're very successful in their business."
Debbie Kruger said the transition has been bittersweet, having been in business for the last 17 years. They bought the store in 1982, introduced soda fountains in 1986 and started making chocolates in 1988. The store itself has been in business as Mandan Drug since 1883.
The asking price for the whole business was $240,000, but Rusty Kruger said the new owners got it for a slightly discounted price.
All in all, though, they're satisfied with the deal.
"The reason I'm satisfied is that the store will remain open, and they'll continue what we've been doing, and adding their own personality to it,"Debbie Kruger said.
From the Bismarck Tribune, Crystal R. Reid
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