ALEXANDRIA, Minn. — On Feb. 25, 2020, Charlie Vernlund and her daughter, Clista Bradford, watched across the street as a fire tore through a historic block of Broadway in downtown Alexandria.
Initially, they hoped the flames could be contained.
But before long, their store, known as "Charlie's Bazaar," was a total loss.
"It was devastating," Vernlund said. "We started seeing them tear down the front of our building. And we thought, 'welp, that does not look good.'"
Just like that, the store Vernlund had opened two decades earlier in 1999 was gone.
"As she watched it, it was kind of a closure of a chapter for her," her daughter Clista said. "As I watched it, it was devastating, yes, but almost like I knew something would be reborn out of that."
Charlie and Clista wasted no time getting to work.
Despite delays during the early days of COVID, they eventually rebuilt their store under the new brand, "Bazara," and opened in May 2022, representing a big step toward the revitalization of Broadway Street in downtown Alexandria.
That revitalization was on full display Friday, in the middle of downtown's annual "Crazy Days" sales event. Alexandria's business community often flourishes during the summer months, particularly in July and August when many visitors are in town to enjoy the lakes.
"The first year has been good," Clista said. "I'm just proud. I'm proud of what her and I have been able to accomplish."
Meanwhile, next door on Broadway Street, there's another sign of progress in the form of a shiny, new three-story building. Amy Lesnar, the owner of Creative Touch Boutique, just moved her retail and warehouse operations into the space this summer.
Creative Touch Boutique had previously operated down the street in the same area of downtown Alexandria. That location was viable, despite some smoke damage, but the business had outgrown the space.
The fire turned out to be an opportunity.
"As devastating as it was, it was amazing that we had the opportunity to look at these lots. Building on them was exactly what we needed," Lesnar said. "To see these empty lots, it was so sad. That we could build something so beautiful on there and bring it back to life, is just amazing."
In honor of the six fire departments that responded to the Feb. 2020 fire, Creative Touch Boutique added six windows on the side of the new building.
"The Alexandria community is like none other," Lesnar said. "I don't know if this would have been possible, to build and have all this stuff and reopen after the fire, without Alexandria and all their support."
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