Photography by Simple Sight Studios
Land O Dreams first started as a waterbed store in 1976 in Rochester, Minnesota. It began carrying hot tubs in the 1980s and expanded to the Twin Cities with a store in the Lakeville area in 2006. That store was branded with the name of the manufacturer the company was carrying at the time; when that relationship ended, it became Minnesota Hot Tubs. The company now has four hot tub stores in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, the hot tub/mattress store in Rochester and two mattress stores in the Twin Cities.
The fourth Twin Cities location, in Woodbury, just opened in September, and owner Rick Liskow says it’s something of a pilot store.
“The Mattress Superstore and Minnesota Hot Tubs will be under one roof with two front doors, two signs — but it’s one business,” Liskow says. “It will operate a lot like Land O Dreams has for 30-something years in Rochester.”
This will be the first time it has tried the combined approach in the metro area. Liskow put considerable time and money renovating the new location, but he believes that effort will pay off in his lease agreement. He negotiated good terms with his landlord, especially for the high-end shopping area where its located.
“We’re grinding and staining the entire 5,500 square feet of the warehouse [to turn it] into a showroom,” Liskow says. He is painting the ceilings black and hanging track lights, plus bringing carpet into the master showroom, and replacing all ceiling tiles and grids.
The mattress store takes up about 3,000 square feet, with hot tubs covering the remaining 5,500. There is also a 1,000-square-foot shop/warehouse. “I think location is extremely important today,” Liskow says. “There are three things that really fuel hot tub [sales] anymore and that’s the internet, home shows or location.”