How it all started
In October of 2023, the owners of The House, Craig and BriAnne Hern, purchased the only vacant lot of land in the St. Joe city limits. Both coming from different backgrounds, one working in business and the other a former principal, this was something completely new to them. To get more input from the community, they put up a billboard with a QR code that people could scan and give their ideas to what would best benefit St. Joe. They were open to any options that came their way, but at the time, they never really viewed the place as a restaurant. However, people in the town had a different idea. Over the course of a few months, thousands of responses came back, and it became pretty clear that people mostly just wanted a place to gather.
The inspiration for The House came to Craig and Bri when they were visiting friends in Minneapolis and met at a food hall. While they were there, they looked around and realized that this could be something new and different that they could bring to the town of St. Joe. They brought the idea to their builder, who then worked with their architect, and a week later, they came back with what you see today.
Importance of family
At The House, family is huge. Craig and Bri have a blended family, each having two kids of their own. Two of them attend St. John’s University, and the other two are students at Rocori High School. They’ve lived in St. Joe for a long time, and they loved being involved in the community. All four of their kids work at The House, and every Sunday they all work together, so it’s a time when they can all be together and spend time with each other in the building.
Community above all
At The House, community plays a huge role. When doing the survey, one of the main words that came back was GATHER, and The House truly has become a gathering space for the community. People will go to the building to work, meet up with friends, get together with groups or clubs, reunions, birthdays, engagements, you name it!
At The House, there is a lot of collaboration with other local businesses and people in the community. Avon Hills Folk School provides maple syrup for coffee, a lot of the artwork around the building is by Mary Bruno at Bruno Press, and some drinks are from local businesses like Bad Habit and Milk and Honey. They also make connections with the colleges in St. Joe by sponsoring Athlete of the Week, and also just creating a space where teams can come and get a meal before or after a game.
The friendly workers, fun environment, delicious food, and overall positive atmosphere at The House are what draws people in and keeps them coming back. With over 50 workers, including high schoolers, college students, and members of the St. Joe community, there’s opportunity for every person who comes in to connect with someone at The House in some way. An example of this good energy is Esera Tuaolo, a former Minnesota Vikings player and contestant on The Voice. When people gather for birthdays, he’ll randomly pull out his ukulele and sing them happy birthday. It’s such a special thing that makes people feel welcome, wanted, seen, and part of the family there at the house.
The community has also recognized this place as something special. Last fall, The House was nominated for the Economic Development Association of Minnesota: Project of the Year award, and a few weeks ago, Bri and Craig headed down to Minneapolis to receive the award. Members of the town of St. Joe took the time to recognize this project and the impact it had, which was very special to Bri and Craig. They felt very honored, but at the same time, they knew that it was the community, the team, the staff, the chefs, and anyone who’s had a meal at The House that made that happen.
