2024 - INGEBRETSEN'S GIFT SHOP CELEBRATES ITS 50th BIRTHDAY!

The gift side of Ingebretsen's was a welcome addition in 1974 and has transformed from a single counter to a sweeping corner of culture and Nordic tradition.

WHO WE ARE TODAY

Over the last 100 years, Ingebretsen’s Nordic Marketplace has earned a reputation as a destination for all things Scandinavian. The store, which now spans four storefronts and three former businesses on the block, began as the Model Meat Market in 1921, located in the center of Minneapolis’ Scandinavian immigrant community. Generations later, Ingebretsen’s expanded and the Butcher Shop & Deli is now accompanied by a gift store and a Needlework store and classroom at 1605 E Lake Street. Together as a Nordic Marketplace, Ingebretsen’s draws Scandinavians from all over the state and the country.

The Powderhorn neighborhood in South Minneapolis has faced countless changes since the 1920s. Ingebretsen’s has stayed in the same location and the family continues to work diligently to be a positive force in the community and collaborate with other Lake Street businesses.

THE 103 YEAR HISTORY

Karl (Charles) Ingebretsen Sr. emigrated from Norway in the early 1900s, the only member of his family to leave the country. From New York, where he arrived at Ellis Island, he traveled to Fargo, North Dakota and learned butchering. Leaving North Dakota for the Twin Cities, Charlie found the vibrant Scandinavian-American community in MInneapolis' Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. After opening meat markets on Cedar and Lake Street, the Model Meat Market, in the words of granddaughter Julie Ingebretsen, “is the one that stuck,” and became known as Ingebretsen’s. It opened in 1921, the same year that Charles (Bud) Ingebretsen Jr. was born.

Bud married Honore Adams and began managing the Lake Street store after the Second World War. In the 1960s, Bud took on a partner, Warren Dahl, who brought with him his recipes for Swedish meatballs and sausages, plus other traditional foods that have since become signature items in the butcher shop. The love of these classic dishes has been passed down through generations as a way to connect to family heritage. As demand grew for authentic Scandinavian items, Bud and Warren decided to try selling gift items alongside the deli. Julie Ingebretsen, granddaughter of founder Charles Ingebretsen Sr., was between jobs in 1974 when her family suggested that she manage this new gift store. Julie accepted, thinking that she would take the job “for a while.” Julie manages the store today and has been instrumental in the direction and growth of the gift shop.

When asked what her favorite part about the job is, Julie said, “The feeling of creating something. It took me a long time to figure that out. That’s what I was doing. That was my art basically. That it was a thing that I was making. But now it’s true. Like we together were making something that was a good thing in the world.”

As one of the few remaining Scandinavian stores in the United States, Ingebretsen’s has adapted and changed over the last one hundred years. What started with food became a place of connection and community. An immigrant story.