One week it was a tattoo parlor, another week an exotic pet store, and another week it was exotic belly dancers looking for senior instructors. 

For about five weeks, before Blondie’s Grill opened in New Richland, owner Carly Solland posted these on coming soon signs on the door of her new location as a lighthearted way to build curiosity about the business.

“I live in Hartland, and everybody kept asking me, ‘Is it you that’s going to New Richland?’ I just kept going, no, it’s not me. I heard it was going to be whatever sign I had in the window that week,” Solland said.

“I thought it was a cute little way to introduce myself to this community,” she added.

Shortly before Blondie’s opened in New Richland on June 22, Solland posted a sign late one night so residents could see the final answer and learn Blondie’s Grill would soon be opening in town. Solland said people were happy to learn a restaurant was coming to New Richland.  

“They were happy it was going to remain a restaurant. I have people who have been coming into this restaurant for years. I have gentlemen who talk about when they were little boys, and it was a pool hall,” she said.

Like she did in Albert Lea, Solland said she has a group of regulars who come in for coffee each morning.

“They’re just happy to have a local café they can come in and visit with their friends,” she said.

After Blondie’s closed in Albert Lea, Solland was unable to find a new location in Albert Lea. Solland was contacted by someone about a building available in New Richland.

At first, Solland said she was unsure about the location because she had been in Albert Lea and wanted to stay, but she said that changed when she got to New Richland.

“I went and looked at it, and it felt right. It was home and cozy,” she said. “It needed to be cleaned up and stuff, and so we pretty much gutted it and remodeled the whole thing.”

Many of her old Albert Lea customers make the trip to New Richland to the new Blondie’s on weekends, and Solland said the people of New Richland have been very welcoming to her.

“The people who do come down from Albert Lea to visit me have said it’s a much homier feeling when they walk into this place than the place I had in Albert Lea was, but they just feel that it’s in the wrong town. My New Richland people disagree very much with them,” she said.

She said she someday hopes to potentially open a second location, so she can have a Blondie’s in New Richland and Albert Lea.

Despite being in a new city, the menu and decorations are largely the same.

“All my Marilyn Monroe and James Dean and Jean Harlow – all my famous Hollywood blondes all came with me. Everything is pretty much the same,” she said.

The decorations change frequently, as many of the furniture and decorative items are for sale. That is not the case, however, with a large custom painting of Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean painted by Mark Ness. Though many have made offers, she said she has no intention of selling it.

Moving the restaurant to New Richland from Albert Lea was stressful at times, because Solland said she didn’t know how if the business would succeed in a smaller city.

That transition was made easier because many of her employees still work at the business. She currently has six employees. Solland’s husband, Gary, and mother, Mary, both help out at the business as well.

Solland said she’s happy to be in New Richland, and hopes she can bring a smile to her customers’ faces.

“I know they’re happy to have me, and I’m sure happy to be a part of the community,” Solland said.

Blondie’s is open in New Richland from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. the rest of the week.