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By Ayanna Eckblad

Downtown Albert Lea in early February will welcome a new business on Broadway.

It will be called Jeni’s Fine Jewelers, and it will sell a variety of pieces from bridal and formal jewelry to everyday items. A grand opening will be held Feb. 9 at its location at 224 S. Broadway, in the historic Bessesen Building.

The store’s owners, David and Keli Enser, were both raised in the Albert Lea area. They both hold master’s degrees in education. Currently, David teaches fifth grade at Halverson Elementary School. Keli worked in education for 10 years, eventually deciding to become a stay-at-home mom for her and David’s six children. Both David and Keli also served in the Army.

Jeni’s Fine Jewelers is named after Keli’s older sister, Jeni, who passed away in 2013. She worked as a nurse.

“My sister was such a wonderful person,” Keli said. “I just thought that would be a great way to memorialize her.”

Feb. 9 was Jeni’s birthday, Keli explained, so that was why they decided to hold the grand opening of the store then.

One thing people may notice as Jeni’s Fine Jewelers opens is its similarities to Fisher’s Fine Jewelers. This is no coincidence.

David said he first became acquainted with the store’s owner, Larry Fisher, when he walked into Fisher’s Fine Jewelers to buy a ring to propose to Keli. David said he admired the way Fisher built strong relationships with his customers and other members of the community, and he now hopes he can embody that in the new store.

Keli herself worked at Fisher’s Fine Jewelers for about three months during Fisher’s retirement sale. During that time, she said she sold a few engagement rings, but one experience stuck out to her in particular.

“When [the customer] found the ring that he wanted, his eyes just lit up, and it was so exciting just to be the smallest part of the biggest day of his life,” Keli said. “I just loved it. It made me so happy.”

David and Keli originally thought of buying Fisher’s Fine Jewelers and taking over the store after Fisher retired. However, due to a number of reasons including finances and conflicting schedules, they decided they should open a smaller store instead.

“With Larry retiring, he’s been incredibly helpful in helping us get started,” David said.

Fisher even helped the Ensers find a location for their store. He had the idea to see if the space Fisher’s Fine Jewelers was originally located in was open for rent. The space now houses the Freeborn County Arts Initiative and other artist studios. Fisher contacted the landlord, Susanne Crane, and she confirmed that the room was available.

David said Crane and Elisha Marin, also of the Freeborn County Arts Initiative, have been phenomenal to work with in getting the store open.

All the various moving parts of opening Jeni’s Fine Jewelers fell into place, and customers will soon be able to see the work that has gone into it.

In addition to working at Fisher’s Fine Jewelers, Keli said she will take diamond grading classes to expand her knowledge of the business.

Although it will open in February, Jeni’s Fine Jewelers had a welcome event during Albert Lea’s Holiday Bazaar in December. During the event, Keli opened the store for people to stop in, introduce themselves and get a free cookie, candy cane or homemade candle. David was deployed at the time so he was not present for the event, but Keli said she had a lot of help from her children. Keli guessed about 300 people stopped by, and she had a great time meeting everyone.

Keli and David agreed that downtown Albert Lea has become absolutely beautiful again and they look forward to being a part of its growth.

“I’m super excited … to be such a big part of people’s lives, engagements, births, graduations, all that stuff,” Keli said. “When you’re selling jewelry, you’re doing it to make people happy.”

Jeni’s Fine Jewelers has a Facebook page Keli hopes to grow in the near future. The store will also have a website and phone number available closer to the opening date. The store’s hours will be 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, as well as by appointment.