The Shops That Left Clark Avenue Just Gave Downtown White Bear Lake a New Fall Address

Amber Puschinsky and Emily Blake had been checking downtown White Bear Lake for open storefronts for weeks. Then they opened the door to a vacant space in the White Bear Mall on 3rd Street. "When we opened the door, Emily and I looked at each other and were like, 'This is our space.' It was immediate," Puschinsky told Press Publications.

Next they called two of their neighbors from the old building on Highway 61 and told them to look at the other two empty spaces.

That was last winter. This October, the building those three businesses moved into, at 2186 3rd Street, is hosting its own Halloween night and a youth art fair. Most of downtown's fall and holiday events have always run along 4th Street. Now there's a second stop one block over, and it started with a lease problem out on Clark Avenue.

What Happened on Clark Avenue

Last winter, Press Publications reported that the roughly 12,200-square-foot retail building on Clark Avenue along Highway 61 had sold in September. About 10 businesses there were likely to need new homes. The tenants could tell something was coming. "We kind of knew something going on because our leases were not renewed by the previous owners," said Amelia Reigstad, who founded The Women Collective and had moved into the building in September 2024.

According to the online listing, the building would be torn down and replaced with a new one, offering three suites totaling 12,230 square feet. The tenants were offered the chance to stay. Paully Lundeen of Black Phoenix Tattoo had rented there since April 2010. He said the space he was offered was "probably nine or 10 times the size that we can manage at this point." Puschinsky said the new rent "just wasn't going to be feasible for our small business."

So the shops had to choose where to land. The three that stuck together all chose downtown.

Why They Wanted the Same Building

The Women Collective, Oldies & Goodies and Black Phoenix Tattoo all signed on at the White Bear Mall. That's the same building where Sassafras Health Foods operates. Sassafras says it has been in business since 1992 and moved into the Mall after its first ten years.

Each owner gave a reason tied to downtown itself. Puschinsky's was the most personal:

"I live downtown, so I want to walk to work. I want to be in the community. I live here. I eat here. I shop here, and I want to have my business here as well … I couldn't imagine going anywhere else."

Reigstad loved her Clark Avenue space. Still, she said she was looking forward to "being located within an area that generally has more foot traffic." Lundeen talked about having his neighbors close. "I'm from here. I graduated here. I bought my parents' house," he said. In his view, three businesses that get along, moving into one building, "keeps a steady flow of people." He also said he wanted to get more involved with Marketfest.

Lundeen's point about steady foot traffic matters for this season. A building with several shops that already run events together can put on an evening of its own. "We've spent a lot of time in the building, hanging out with each other, working with each other, doing events with each other," Puschinsky said.

Who's at 2186 3rd Street Now

Here's who the downtown business directory and the shops' own sites list in the building as of this fall:

• Ember & Spark, Suite 109. This is the shop that was Oldies & Goodies.
• The Women Collective, Suite 104A
• Black Phoenix Tattoo, Unit 106 by the studio's own listing
• Sassafras Health Foods, Suite 110
• Ban Thai, Suite 111
• Beartown Chiropractic, Suite 104
• Deanna Stanley, LLC, Suite 105

The Women Collective held its grand reopening in the new space on February 26, with a Chamber ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. The move also brought a change for the old vintage shop. Its owners describe how it shifted from vintage and antiques to a "curated, art-focused shop" under the Ember & Spark name. Some event listings still use the Oldies & Goodies name, so you'll see both on fall flyers.

The Building's First October Downtown

On Thursday, October 22, the building hosts White Bear Mall-O-Ween. The listing gives an event window of 5 to 8 p.m. and says the Mall's businesses will stay open late from 5 to 7. Plans include make-and-takes, flash tattoos from Black Phoenix Tattoo, "and more."

Sixteen days later, on Saturday, November 7, Oldies & Goodies hosts its first-ever Junior Art Fair in the same building, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Artists 18 and under will show and sell their work in all kinds of mediums. Young artists who want to take part can contact Emily at [email protected].

These events grow out of what the shop is now. A store built around art and makers is hosting an art fair for kids, and a tattoo studio is offering flash tattoos at a Halloween open house. Both events come from the businesses that run them, and both happen at the address they moved into this year.

The Fall Calendar, One Block Apart

Set the Mall's dates next to downtown's other fall and holiday events and the pattern is easy to see. The longtime events sit along 4th Street. The new ones are one block over on 3rd.

The two Halloween events land just two days apart. One event listing describes the Candy Crawl as trick-or-treating at participating downtown businesses, open to kids and to dogs. November 7 is busy too. The Historical Society's annual meeting runs from 10 a.m. to noon, and the youth art fair opens on 3rd Street an hour after the meeting starts.

The Holiday Stretch on 4th Street

The holiday season opens on Wednesday evening, November 18. The gazebo lighting runs from 5 to 7 p.m. at 4th and Washington Square, and the Mayor's countdown is at 6. Rotary organizes it in partnership with Downtown Mainstreet, the WBL Lions and the City. The Historical Society opens the Armory that same evening, from 6 to 8 p.m., for a preview of the decorated trees. The preview is for Historical Society members and Festival of Trees participants, and light holiday bites will be served.

The public run of the 4th Annual Festival of Trees starts the next day at the White Bear Lake Armory, 2228 4th St., and goes through December 19. Local businesses and nonprofits decorate the trees. The hours change during the week:

1. Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
2. Thursday: 2 to 8 p.m., the only evening hours of the week
3. Friday: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
4. Saturday: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
5. Sunday through Tuesday: closed

Thursday is the only day you can visit after a typical workday. Two Saturday open houses, December 5 and December 12, both from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., add free cocoa, holiday treats and activities, and the Historical Society says Santa may stop by.

If you remember different dates from last year, there's a reason. The 2025 festival ran November 20 through December 20, with open houses on November 29, December 6 and December 13. This year's run starts and ends a day earlier, and there are two open houses instead of three.

What's Left on Clark Avenue

The old building's future is still unsettled. When the tenants were preparing to leave, City Manager Lindy Crawford said the city knew nothing about plans for the site and that no redevelopment application had been filed. As of late September 2026, the space at 4711–4723 Clark Ave. was still advertised for lease. That listing describes planned new construction and also says the space is being renovated. So the three shops' new downtown address is settled before anything has been settled on Clark Avenue.

If you're thinking about where you want to be in the Lake Area, the way these three shop owners did, we'd be glad to talk it through with you. At Michael Favre, we pay close attention to how places like downtown White Bear Lake change from one season to the next, and we're happy to share what we're seeing. Let's Find Home.