Jackson, Minnesota

Since 1962

Before the stores on the lake, there was one clothing store on Main Street in Jackson. This is how Strom's began, and how one family has kept it going for more than sixty years.

Where it started

Neale Strom got his start in retail as a high school sophomore, working at Fairway Groceries for Norvil Carlson. When a job opened at Mundell Clothing in Jackson, he took it and spent two years learning the clothing business.

Then World War II broke out and Neale was called into service. Afterward he went to college in Wheaton, Illinois, where he met his wife, Jean. He went to work as a salesman, and the job took them all the way to New Orleans.

Neale Strom standing in a long coat outside the Strom's storefront — Neale Strom outside Strom's in Jackson.

Black and white photo of the inside of Strom's, with racks of coats, hats and a wall of shoes — Inside Strom's Clothing and Shoes.

1962

A drive down Main Street

In 1962, Neale came home to visit family in Jackson. Driving down Main Street, he noticed the clothing store he had worked in as a young man was for sale.

A week later the business was his, and Strom Clothing was born. The first store sat on the corner of 2nd and Sherman and carried only men's clothing.

1969 – 1972

Room to grow

Business kept growing, and in 1969 Neale bought the Leach Furniture building when Leach moved down the block. He remodeled it and moved Strom's into its new, larger home near Gervais Jewelry, with a three-day grand opening, coffee and donuts, and over $750 in prizes.

In 1972 he bought the store next door, put a doorway between the two, and added a women's section. That same year the whole team posed for Strom's 10th anniversary photo.

Newspaper ad from the Jackson County Pilot announcing the Strom's grand opening on June 5, 6 and 7, 1969 — The Jackson County Pilot, June 5, 1969.

Magazine clipping showing the Strom's staff for the store's 10th anniversary in 1972 — Neale, Jean, Brad and the Strom's team at the 10th anniversary, 1972.

“My kids have said they were so glad to have grown up in Jackson. We all think Jackson is a great place. It has been a very wonderful place to live and do business.”

Neale Strom

1987

Twenty-five years on Main Street

By 1987, Strom's had been dressing Jackson for a quarter century. The store had grown from a men's shop on a corner into a full clothing and shoe store for the whole family, run by a team that customers knew by name.

Two men hanging a sign reading Celebrating our 25th Anniversary, 1962 to 1987 — Hanging the 25th anniversary sign, 1962 to 1987.

Black and white group photo of the Strom's staff among racks of suits — The Strom's team.

1989

Passing the torch

In 1989, Brad Strom bought the store from his father. Neale announced it with a three-week Retirement and Change of Ownership Sale, the biggest in the store's 27-year history.

Brad gave the store a major remodel and expanded big and tall, the shoe department, the boys' and ladies' departments, and the sportswear area.

Jackson County Livewire newspaper ad for the Strom's Retirement and Change of Ownership Sale, October 1989 — The Jackson County Livewire, October 2, 1989.

Neale Strom and Brad Strom standing together in front of a display of polo shirts — Neale and Brad Strom.

The Strom family, with Neale and Brad, standing in front of a rack of suits — The Strom family in the store.

2006

To the lake

In 2006, Brad opened Brad's Bungalow in the Central Emporium in Arnolds Park. Today the family's stores span the Iowa Great Lakes, and they still run on the same idea Neale started with on Main Street: good clothes and people who know their customers.

Arnolds Park, Iowa

Brad's Bungalow

Brad's Bungalow makes its home in the Central Emporium on West Lake Okoboji, a building with a story of its own. It opened in 1901 as the Central Pavilion and later became the Central Ballroom, where crowds danced to Count Basie, Glenn Miller and Louis Armstrong. In 1971 it was reborn as a home for lakeside shops.

Brad brought the family's clothing know-how to the lake, with resort wear for men from brands like Tommy Bahama, Johnnie-O, Kuhl and Cutter & Buck. Brad's son Steve ran the new store his first summer after his freshman year of college, and a third generation of Stroms joined the family business. The store got a fresh renovation in 2020, and it still runs the way Strom's always has: good clothes, and getting to know the people who walk through the door.

The renovated Central Emporium in Arnolds Park, with its stone front and green flags along the roofline — The Central Emporium, home of Brad's Bungalow.

Inside Brad's Bungalow, with polos, caps and a Waggle golf display — Inside Brad's Bungalow today.

A table of polos, Sperry boat shoes and caps on a stars and stripes cloth — Inside Brad's Bungalow today.

2007

The Animal House of Okoboji

The Animal House got its start in 1989, when Rod and Jeannie James and Jerry and Linda Harbst opened it in Spirit Lake, with a name borrowed from the movie National Lampoon's Animal House. As it caught on, it moved to the lower level of the Central Emporium, right at the bottom of the stairs, and became the original surf shop of the Iowa Great Lakes.

Growing up in Jackson, Brad's son Steve never pictured a future in retail. He went to college to become a teacher, and he was set on not becoming the third Strom generation in the family business. But back in high school, he remembers standing in the middle of the Animal House and daydreaming that it would be cool to own someday.

“In high school, I said I'm not going to work for you, but God had a different plan.”

Steve Strom

Steve spent the summer of 2006 managing the brand new Brad's Bungalow. "I grew up a lot that summer," he said. The next summer, a For Sale sign appeared on the Animal House doors. Sarah wanted it, Steve was just as excited, and in 2007 the family bought the store from its second owners, Pat and Marylea Olsen. "I never imagined my dream from high school would actually happen!" Steve said. Sarah ran the Animal House its first few years, with Steve helping run both stores during his college summers.

In 2008 Sarah opened a store of her own in the Emporium, Life on the Lake, which dressed ladies and youth for more than a decade. When Life on the Lake closed in 2019, the family knocked down the wall between it and Brad's Bungalow, giving the Bungalow the room to grow it has today.

Steve graduated in December 2009, and instead of heading into a classroom he came home to Jackson and the family business. The next summer, Brad asked him to become the buyer and manager of the Animal House. He learned the business from the inside out, built his own systems, and worked alongside his dad, carrying on the family legacy.

“There is pride in carrying on the family tradition. This is where God wants me to be.”

Steve Strom

Room for more

The Animal House had one of the best spots on the lake, but it had outgrown its space. Every year the staff asked when they were going to expand, and Steve had been sketching plans since 2010. The chance came when Butch Parks became the Central Emporium's new landlord in 2017. There was unused space next to the store, Butch agreed to knock down the wall, and the work began between the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

Plenty of people pitched in. Reef representative Bill Linsmayer spent a 12-hour day building a Reef wall on one side of the shop. Family friends Mel Peterson and Randy Graff were a huge part of the build, and Steve's brother Matthew came home from college on weekends to help. The expanded Animal House opened in May 2018, and in 2019 it celebrated 30 years as the original surf shop of the Iowa Great Lakes.

Hats, socks and sandals on display beside boxes of shoes at the Animal House — Inside the Animal House today, and summer on the boardwalk outside.

Juniors graphic tees, denim shorts and sweatshirts on tables at the Animal House — Inside the Animal House today, and summer on the boardwalk outside.