Uptown Boutique Les Sól Calls It Quits Four years of running a boutique in Minneapolis has cured Mikaela Harrod of wanting to be in retail. The owner of says she’s over it. The Uptown shop will close permanently on June 30.
Earlier this week, Harrod announced her decision on Les Sol’s Instagram in a brutally honest post, detailing the many stumbling blocks the boutique has had to navigate since opening in 2020: a pandemic, a tricky economic climate, and now—the final nail in the coffin—major road construction on Lake Street, where Les Sól is located. “Small businesses in Uptown are hurting. Since 2020 (and even well before that), we feel the city hasn’t done enough to help our little slice of Minneapolis,” said Harrod in the post.
“We are sad to close our doors, but in a way, we’re relieved. And, in a weird way, we’re hoping our closing can serve as a reminder to the city that more needs to be done to help other small businesses.” For instance, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (MN DEED) announced the MN Promise Act during the 2023 legislative session, a loan and grant program to support disadvantaged small businesses located in certain neighborhoods around the state.
After looking forward to receiving the grant for months, Harrod found out that Les Sól is three blocks outside of the support zone, and thus ineligible. “Getting that grant would have been nice to be able to support rent through this [economic climate],.
