Molly Mogren Katt is a writer, entrepreneur and mom who launched HeyEleanor! on Substack to document facing her fears. She is a regular contributor and lives in the Wedge.
Every year when we dig out our holiday decorations, I unpack my favorite Christmas memory. In December 1987, my Uncle Whitey — a nickname earned from summers spent in the sod fields that bleached his hair — brought me to downtown Minneapolis. We ventured to Dayton’s eighth-floor holiday displays, then hunted down the gift of the season: a commemorative Twins World Series Christmas ornament.
I presented the ornament to my parents on Christmas morning, absolutely beaming. It’s not every day a five-year-old gets to surprise someone with a special, fragile gift. Now it hangs on my own tree, a reminder of a downtown Christmas adventure that, for whatever reason, became core-memory material.
The days of shopping downtown are, if we’re being diplomatic, in transition. In 2001, Dayton’s became Marshall Field’s. Later, it turned into Macy’s, which closed in 2017. We’ve swapped department stores for apps promising instant gratification, leaving us to wonder what we’re going to do with all these empty buildings.
Ideas for the historic Dayton’s keep getting tossed around — an event space? A food hall? A dance club that closes at 10 p.m. so we can all get to bed on time? (OK, fine, I made that one up.) While there’s no official long-term plan, local market curator Mich Berthiaume dreamed up a way to bring back a little of that Christmastime department store magic.
Five years ago, Berthiaume and longtime retailer Jake Sanders of Shop in the City launched the Dayton’s Holiday Market with a handful of vendors in the building’s iconic chandelier room. Now it’s become the pinnacle holiday experience downtown, drawing shoppers from across the metro.
“Growing up, it never felt like Christmas until we made the pilgrimage to Dayton’s for the eighth floor displays, a bowl of wild rice soup at the Oak Grill, and finally picking up a Santa Bear,” Sanders says. “Bringing elements of the original Dayton’s back to life while showcasing some of the most creative and interesting makers in the Twin Cities feels like the perfect blend of nostalgia and modern-day Minnesota.”
This year’s market features more than 100 local vendors selling everything from adorable Thumbs Cookies (hot tip: the peppermint cookie bark sells out for a reason!) and Swedish candies from a local family’s Confetti Blossom sweets, to designer vintage clothing from Bleu Boy Vintage and bespoke cribbage boards from Fox Lake Furniture.
“Buzzed shopping really is the best.”
There are handmade candles and soaps, Minnesota Aurora soccer gear, those Something’s Amiss puzzles that simultaneously delight and annoy me (but mostly delight, since I buy one every year), and stylish-but-functional outdoor apparel from Namakan Goods — of which I am the co-founder and unabashedly promoting here because hey, I write these essays for free and a girl’s gotta eat.
In what surely counts as a Christmas miracle, the city finally granted the market a liquor license, allowing Earl Giles Distillery to craft cocktails on site. Their take on an old fashioned evokes that perfect vintage steakhouse vibe and makes spending your Christmas budget on small businesses feel just a little more footloose and fancy-free (buzzed shopping really is the best).
“A reimagined department store truly offers something for everyone — except Jeff Bezos.”
Because you’ll need food with that drink, Jester Concepts is bringing back Dayton’s iconic wild rice soup and popovers, plus ginger cookies from Rustica. The market is also selling two special-edition Santa Bears in honor of the icon’s 40th birthday. They dropped on Black Friday and may be sold out by the time this paper hits your mailbox.
Let’s be honest: none of us wants to buy all our gifts from a place that rhymes with Shmamazon. We want to support local makers and discover unique items with a story behind them. We want reasons to go downtown — especially during the holidays. Maybe you’ll even feel inspired to start a new tradition with one of your favorite kids, helping them pick out the perfect gift for their parents.
Just don’t expect it to be a commemorative Twins World Series ornament anytime soon. These are just a few reasons a trip to Dayton’s should top your holiday to-do list. A reimagined department store really does offer something for everyone — except Jeff Bezos.
