The sisters opened Twisted Creek Ranch & Animal Supply in southwest Minot last September. Their goal has been to bring their own unique twist to the business.

“We just wanted to be different,” Henderson said. “We wanted to do something different. We wanted to be different than the other stores.”

They’ve sought to carve out their niche by offering a variety of merchandise, by catering to customers interested in organic and natural products, by including delivery services and by providing workshops and classes.

Henderson said they want the store to attract not just farmers and ranchers but other rural and city folks.

Jill Schramm/MDN A portion of Twisted Creek Ranch & Animal Supply contains items ranging from decor and clothing to saddles and farm supplies.

Henderson had owned Pet Parade in Minot for 20 years and for the past seven has worked in real estate with Coldwell Banker. Hanson previously worked for North Country Mercantile in Minot.

The sisters grew up on a farm near Des Lacs, where they showed animals.

Their store’s animal supply line includes products for everything from pheasants to pond fish to pot-bellied pigs as well as more traditional pets and farm animals.

Because they want to serve a broad base of customers, the store carries products in a range of prices – such as multiple types of dog food – to meet different needs. To accommodate customers, they’ve sold feed by the 50-pound bag and by the semi-truck load. The idea is to give people whatever it is they are looking for.

“It all clicks together with the whole general store feel we want to have here,” Hanson said.

Hanson’s management interest is in the animal supplies, while Henderson heads up the decor and clothing sections, but they work together to ensure they stock products that appeal to a variety of customer tastes in all categories of the store. They both enjoy working with the Pride of Dakota section, having taken on much of the same inventory as the former Home Sweet Home. They have worked closely with former Home Sweet Home owners, now brokers for Pride of Dakota businesses, to stock Twisted Creek.

In addition, they have sought out other local artists and crafters to provide locally made products for sale in the store. They’ve done their own furniture refinishing to add to their home decor section.

Hanson said although they do travel on out-of-state buying trips, they shop from the perspective of what their North Dakota and Canadian customers want.

Henderson added they also stay alert to the trends and new items that are generating local interest on the farms and ranches so they can make these products available for customers to try.

“We do special orders on pretty much everything from home decor to horse trailers,” Henderson said. “If we don’t have it, we can usually get it for you.” They also support other Minot businesses with referrals when they know a product can be purchased locally.

The store has its own distribution system to customers who order online or by phone and live in its delivery area that extends from Williston to Rugby. Even the March snowstorm a couple of weeks ago didn’t stop the store’s deliveries. Customers who live outside the delivery area can still order at twistedcreeksupply.com with receipt through regular package carriers.

Open six days a week, Twisted Creek employs five full-time and two part-time employees. The store is located in the former Capital RV building, just off U.S. Highway 2 & 52 on Minot’s west side. A business offering recreational vehicles such as all-terrain and snowmobiles had been housed there prior to Twisted Creek moving in.

With plenty of space to utilize on the property, Hanson said, they want to host more vendor shows, classes and clinics in the store, possibly even holding a summer farmers market. From cow milking to jewelry making, she envisions a wealth of opportunities to bring in experts to teach people new skills. Other options are educational meetings to keep farmers and ranchers up on the latest, along with educational activities for children.

Twisted Creek has worked with Souris Valley Animal Shelter at past events, and Hanson and Henderson said they look forward to more of those joint ventures. They also hope to participate in ag shows and have a booth at the State Fair.

(Prairie Profile is a weekly feature profiling interesting people in our region. We welcome suggestions from our readers. Call Editor Mike Sasser at 857-1959 or Regional Editor Eloise Ogden at 857-1944. Either can be reached at 1-800-735-3229. You also can send e-mail suggestions to msasser@minotdailynews.com.)