New look for downtown businesses
Melissa Ward, owner of Hidden Rose Boutique, takes a break at the Fresh Café last week before Feb. 1 when she assumed ownership of the Fresh café, Owatonna Fitness and the Dry-Cleaning businesses, now all located. at 130 E. Vine St. Staff Photo by Karen M. Jorgensen
There are some big changes taking place in the downtown retail community as January turns into February.
As of Feb. 1, Melissa Ward, owner of Hidden Rose Boutique, has become the new owner of Owatonna Fitness, Fresh Café and Cindy’s Dry Cleaning with all now operating out of the 130 E. Vine St. location under the name Fresh Café Market.
Ward said she wants to keep open and running as much as possible as the café and fitness center will be getting a refreshed look.
Fresh Café will be closed for approximately two weeks, she said, with her current plan to reopen on Feb. 16. Although there will be some menu changes, she said, salads, wraps, protein smoothies, soups and acai bowls will still be available. The menu will likely expand to include additional salads. She said she wants to keep and perhaps expand the gluten-free options.
Everything on the menu, she added, will be freshly made.
Dry cleaning drop-off and pickup will remain by the front counter, she said, and the actual dry cleaning will still be done in another area of the building.
There will be some remodeling and rearranging as one walks into the building as the café seating will be on one side and Hidden Rose merchandise on the other side.
Ward said that with the move to 130 Vine St., the business has come full circle. She opened the business there in 2021. She then moved it to 324 Cedar St. before closing at that location last spring. She continued to sell online and had a pop-up location in the Zamboni Event Center in November before returning to the Vine Street location.
Hidden Rose, she said, primarily sells women’s clothing, along with purses and some jewelry. She may add some gift items in the future, she said.
In addition, she said, she owns Top Notch Cleaning providing commercial, office, industrial and janitorial services in Owatonna and Faribault.
Hours for the café, dry cleaning and Hidden Rose will be 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
The fitness center will maintain its same hours.
“I’m excited,” Ward said, adding “it’s a lot of work.”