General Store of Minnetonka

I love this store. I love this store so much.
I’ve grown up with this store and they’ve maintained, if not increased, their charm.
They have gifts, doodads, nostalgia, books, decorations, bath goods, clothing, jewelry, etc. etc. etc. People of all ages will step back into their childhoods while walking through the store with flooring of old wood and cement.
My two favorite places to walk around during the holiday season are Menards (true story) and The General Store. No one has more holiday ambiance! Also, if you want to have a personalized ornament created on the spot, they have someone waiting to create one for you.
I went in today to pick up a few random items: A classy optical illusions coloring book, a «minnesota-​nice» drying towel, and a MN lesser-​known facts book. I know I’ll be going back again to put together some foodie-​gift basket for friends this Christmas.
The bistro is charming & tasty, too! Although, I will say that they could really stand to improve their labeling of ingredients for those who have food sensitivities (seriously, as common as it is, I have to scratch my head on why all eating establishment haven’t gotten aboard with labeling, if not upgrading, their ingredients to include additional options).
Even if you don’t want to go «shopping,» this really is a rare gem that you can walk through and be taken back to happy memories of years past and recent. And for as many artisanal items that they carry, the prices are actually quite reasonable. But please, at least go to walk around and absorb the ambiance!

I decided to stop into this little store that I drive by all the time, and I’m pretty glad that I did. The store is kind of deceptive from the outside. Once you step through the door, you are greeted with a completely overwhelming array of items. I’d say you should think of them loosely as home décor and gift items, but that is kind of underselling the true array of things. I saw all kinds of kitchen gear, from cookie cutters to packaged mixes to silicone spatulas and a really cool cutting board made out of recycled milk jugs. There are home items like pillows, wall hangings and décor stuff. There are all varieties of Minnesota items, from shirts to pint glasses to mugs and playing cardss. There are notepads, coloring books, throw pillows, placemats and a ton of other items. Everywhere you look and every way you turn, there are more items artfully displayed in seemingly every nook and cranny of the store. It’s the type of place that is kind of like a fun maze — leave yourself some time to make it all the way through and browse. There is a ton to look at. And don’t miss the upstairs, where there are clothes, kids stuff and even more random items. Totally blown away by the variety packed into this little store. It would be great for a unique gift shopping excursion. And, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they are open till 9 on weekdays.

Best place I have ever been. The managers sisters son is really cute. The popovers are delicious! I recommend the general store to all of my friends! :)

We stopped here on the way back from Old Log Theater. It has tons of things to look at but does take time. I appreciate the thought behind all the gifts but it has a price. Also, the location is kinda difficult to visit it you are heading west to Excelsior. It is really when you are leaving from Excelsior that you can turn in. Well, I am sure you can find similar stores but this has a cool atmosphere.

The General Store has been around since my childhood. I remember it as having a quaint feeling with a lot of things that I couldn’t find anywhere else. So, when we were driving by on Highway 7 and saw the sign, we couldn’t help but stop in. I sort of wish that I had kept driving.
This place is crowded from the moment you walk in, but not too crowded. There are a few places where there was a bottle neck, but hey, this is Christmas. The set-​up is pretty much exactly like I remember it was when I first went in as a teenager. I loved looking at all of the items which are loosely organized by theme (kitchen, Minnesota theme, etc). Of course, during the holiday season, there was a lot of Christmas EVERYWHERE. There were some new areas that I personally liked: a lot more artisan and costume jewelry, some fun kids items, a great baby section, some fun joke type items or novelty from Fred and other companies. There is also a large amount of nostalgia type items from toys to Christmas to candy. It was fun to share with my children some of the treats I enjoyed as a child. They do have a really cool section in the front of the store where you can get quite a few toys from growing up– no matter when that might have been.
This place lacks the whimsy that I remember. A lot of the merchandise in the store was pretty much the same stuff that you can get at a lot of stores. I was particularly disappointed in the Christmas ornaments, except for the personalizable ones. There wasn’t one ornament that I haven’t seen somewhere else. Bummer. I wish there were a few things that I felt that I couldn’t get anywhere else.
One new addition since growing up is the café. This was the only part of my experience that I could say was a total BAH-​HUMBUG! They have quite a few homemade treats, a salad and sandwich bar and coffee. We ordered quite a few pastries for our drive back to Fargo, having eaten already. My husband and I ordered lattes. A few things about the coffee: 1. I ordered extra hot and they were still a little on the lukewarm side. I imagine if I had ordered them regular they would have been room temperature. 2. I ordered Almond and my husband Caramel. They tasted exactly the same and like caramel. 3. It is VERY slow to get a latte. If you want one, it would probably be faster to drive down Hwy 7 and go to Hopkins to Dunn Bothers of Starbucks.
As I wrote above, we ordered some pastries. We ordered a Ho-​ho bar which was divine. Really exceptional. But THEN, we ordered two lemon bars and THAT is where the trouble came in and why I probably will never go back to this store. One of our lemon bars was fine, but the other was a semi-​brown and overcooked edge piece (with very little lemon) that I really didn’t want to pay over $ 3 for, so I asked for a different one. The clerk told me that the policy is to always take the one next in the pan. No exceptions. Hmmm. The you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit bakery policy. Except that one of my children would no doubt not want the lemon-​less lemon bar. I persisted to avoid inevitable fighting in the car ride home. I asked to see a manager. No, she was not there. So I left that area and asked another employee to call a manager. I finally got a manager and told her the story who had to call ANOTHER manager, her mom, Gail, to help. Gail told me the same policy in which she said if they sell them out of order, some people would want to choose the middle ones. She sounded a little like a 5^th grade teacher scolding a child as she relayed the policy. REALLY, of course, customers might want to NOT buy less quality parts? Hmmm. After that, she did tell me that she would get me a slice that I wanted, but by then I was just too frustrated. I also did not want something for free. Honestly, let your customers buy what they want, not what you think they should have. But more than that, find a way to sell bakery items so that each piece is EQUALLY as good. So again, just go down the road to another coffee shop, unless you can get a Ho-​ho bar, this place is just SO-​SO.

My mocha and Snickerdoodle cookie were both really tasty and worth the stop. I loved spending an hour or so looking at the two floors of clothes, gift items, house wares and jewellery for sale to work off the aforementioned. However, a lot of the items were marked up quite a lot and I left empty handed despite finding quite a few things I’d have loved to own. It’s a great rest stop if you’re on the road but I can’t see anyone going out of their way to come here.

We stop by the General Store because my son had a swim meet in Minnetonka (2014 Regionals final). My daughter were bored and was threatened to throw a fit if her ‘shopping’ fix doesn’t get fulfill. She was sick of watching boys swimming all day long. Because I have no interest letting my girl dating boys until she is 30, I don’t issue fulfill every girl’s dream of shopping all day long… I thought this will be a quick look @ a knick/​knack store that we will be out of there in 10 minutes… Boy, were I ever wrong. This store is such a fun place to explore!
From the street, you would not be able to tell how big it is and how much quirky stuff it has. But this place has pretty much everything pertain to fun for both young and old. If you have a person in your life that has pretty much everything and NEAR impossible to buy for the holidays or birthday, this is a great place to start.
With exception to food or kitchen gadgets, those of you know me well enough that I pretty despise shopping, but… I will endorse any place that makes fresh soup/​salad/​sandwiches/​drinks/​bake goods/​etc. Hence my kids can run amok with reckless abandonment without parent’s supervision because my stomach will well content: i.e. an Americano Espresso (double shots) with fresh bake cookies/​muffins. Yes, you are right, I am a bad parent.
This store has 2 floors of stuff to go through and I can say with certainty, none of the items are questionable that you would be afraid your little ones will pick up and ask, ‘…Daddy, what is a «G» string?’ like you are in Spencer’s…
Bottom line, this is a fun and clean place with excellent food café for guys who hate shopping while your whole family can do their thing without your input. Note: they have a really cool Jeep Willy/​Wagoneer wagon in the back for gear-​heads to admire. Again, I am a bad parent.

I recently moved nearby and was really hoping this could be my go-​to gift store. Unfortunately, after two trips here, I will never return. The layout of the store is very confusing, there is way too much inventory packed into the space such that it all ends up looking junky, the décor theme is apparently «Cracker Barrel Chic,» and worst of all, the sales people treat every customer like a potential shoplifter. After watching someone who tried to buy a cheap pair of slippers be told that the sales associate had to hand carry the box to the counter due to company policy, I left without buying anything. I’ll stick to Patina and Bibelot, even though it means a longer drive.

A couple of suggestions to smooth out what you’ve got going:
— First, rename this place to The General Store of Disposable Ephemera Guarded by Angry White Women.
— Second, make your business more difficult to navigate than a pitch-​black casino designed by MC Escher.
— Third, shorten your return policy from one week to thirty seconds.
You’re so close to capturing the Fox & Family /​Larry the Cable Guy demographic. Just a little bit farther! You can do it!

If Santa had a retail store in Minnesota, it would look something like this place — packed to the rafters with holiday gifts, treats and décor. Even the Grinch would get in the Christmas spirit popping in to this place — unless he visited on a weekend during the holiday season.
Lucky for us, we were there on a week night prior to Thanksgiving to stock up on a variety of small clever items and nostalgic candy treats to send to family and friends that live around the country. A person could easily spend hours wandering around the store there is so much to look at and see. We ended up buying a whole basket full of nostalgic candy (Turkish taffy, candy cigs, sugar daddy, Chiclets) to send to our college kids and for ourselves along with a number of small food gifts and décor items.
For a number of year we collected Santa’s (before my wife said «enough») so this was the go-​to place every holiday season. It was great to visit after a couple years hiatus and nice to see it was as festive as ever.

Great before Christmas time. One stop shop for everyone & everything you can possibly imagine!

THE definition of a nice family business. The place is huge and everything in here is so unique. Its a great place to browse with a girlfriend or find a gift for someone who has everything.
I’m also a huge fan of the café, which has delicious desserts, coffee drinks, salads, sandwiches, and OUTSTANDING soup. The lunch rush can get pretty crazy, so I would suggest avoiding noon.

This has to be one of the coolest stores that I’ve ever been to. I’m a guy and I could honestly spend a couple hours in this store. They have everything from kitchen gadgets to candles, candy, kids stuff and everything inbetween. The staff here is very friendly and I think 90% of the customers here are women which makes it actually a pleasant shopping experience (scenery wise anyways). There’s also a small café inside if you get the earge to eat while you’re there. This is just a great store to come bum around. Beware, there is no possible way you can come in here and walk out with nothing.

Big and never ending!
This was another stop on a weekend with friends and family. We had just been to a craft fair and various other shopping meccas, so this was pretty good, but not too impressive for me.
The General Store is a combination of a craft fair and a Patina-​esque gift shop. I couldn’t believe how big the place was!
The upstairs has that kitchy I don’t need it, but want to buy it kind of feeling, which I enjoy.
I bought a few Christmas ornaments and a wine stopper. The Christmas ornaments aren’t out yet of course, but unfortunately, the wine stopper has already lost it’s suction.
I do not live anywhere near this place, but would consider take a day trip on a boring weekend afternoon with friends.
What I would not do is eat at the café. The lines are too long, the help too inept, and the food was just okay. The cashier was more worried about making sure her hair looked good than checking people out, the barista was too worried about getting plates out to help at the coffee and dessert counter, and I’m not sure what the people in the back were doing.
A place for shopping, not for eating or getting coffee or a treat.

I am a huge fan of this type of store! An excellent selection of gifts and holiday merchandise. A bit overwhelming for the first visit, as I didn’t expect it to be this large. A great place to wonder and just see new things.
I agree with Liz B.‘s review. I would have been here MUCH sooner if I’d known what a vast selection they had. The name doesn’t do it justice.
The day we were there, the place was PACKED with people. They even have a sign up that says that can’t accommodate bus tour groups. We checked out the café, too. A nice selection of fun bars (a salted nut roll bar) & cookies. There was a cherry cobbler that looked amazing. Three or four different pasta salads, soup and sandwiches. Coffee bar and great selection of teas. We didn’t stop to eat, but might be a nice option.

The General Store is such a boring name for this kind of place. I just don’t get it. No woman would go here if they keep that name. So if you’re the owner reading this, I suggest you change it to something more appealing to us women!
I know it’s a bit of a drive from Minneapolis but no worries. It won’t be a big deal to all ya’ll Minneapolitans who love Patina. Patina stores are EVERYWHERE in the Twin Cities. This store sits right in the city of Minnetonka on Highway 7. SO, may I suggest that if you are visiting Lake Minnetonka for a romantic weekend, this place is not a bad stop. There’s a café in the back, BUT that’s not what I wanted to talk about. This place is like Patina, but with a more Minnesota feel. Last time I was here, I found kitchenware, photo frames, candles, mittens, books, figurings, jewelry, clothes, birthday cards, scented oil, and a bajillion more cute, pretty stuff. If you’re into all that, I suggest you stop by and have a look around. It’s very cluttered, yet organized (How does that work? I don’t know.) but browsing here is soo much fun!
Oh and for all you GUYS, I suggest you go straight to the café. There’s nothing here for you.