Crow & Co. flies into town

By Kyran Crist / Online Editor

Plans seem to never go as intended.

Early this year when the COVID-19 pandemic and shut down hit, Hutchinson lost a popular local business when Bluebird Books announced it’s closing. Until a new bird flew into town.

Crow and Co. is a new bookstore that has taken up residence in the old Bluebirds Books location.

We spoke with one of the owners, Sara Crow, to hear about how it came to be.

Sara Crow and her husband Larry Crow had a retirement plan of owning a bookstore/art gallery off of Lake Superior, but that was a plan far off into the future. Their dream was closer than they could have ever imagined.

Larry came home from work one day after hearing a discussion about the unexpected closing of Bluebird Books on 2 South Main Street and how Hutchinson had lost a community staple piece.

This opened up a need for a new bookstore in town. He went to Sara and discussed their dream of a bookstore.

“Well, maybe we do it now,” Larry said at the time.

Just like that the plans for Crow and Co took flight.

The community wanted this store, Sara said, and was willing to help in the ways they could to make this bird soar. She also said that the bank was prepared to help with the finances, a fellow local store helped with finding tables, Metropolitan Coffee partnered with them to provide tea and coffee for the cafe, and Sara’s father came from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to help build the bookshelves. Sara stated that everyone came together and helped.

Sara stated that a good and loving community is something that she values, and she said she feels Hutchinson has a great one.

The familiarity of that community philosophy is what Sara and Larry want their store to embody.

Sara said that after COVID-19 passes they would like to have more seating and more community-engaging events.

While the store opened on Aug. 15, the cafe opened on Sept. 1.

Partnering with The Metro, Crow and Co. offer a variety of tea, drip coffee, and Aeropress pore over. They do have some creations of their own such as a masala chai that Sara had passed down to her by a friend from India that is made in house.

Crow and Co. also makes its own pastries, such as Earl Grey bread and gluten-free specialties.

Among the books, they also sell and showcase art from local artists.

Sara said there is so much talent that she feels needs to be showcased. Currently, they have various artists in shop, like Shawn Mackey and Blair Star.

Sara said starting a business during a pandemic was challenging but also, “helped slow us down, and almost forced us to think more thoroughly about our community engagement,” Sara said.

The store has implemented and taken its sanitation and safety precautions very seriously. Masks are required and the bookshelves are spaced out with plenty of space to make a safe distance for customers to have their space and enjoy the store safely.

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