BEMIDJI 鈥� It started in 2009 as an intimate store in a former church in Nymore. Yellow Umbrella sold mainly handmade items created by its founders, sisters-in-law Jennifer Pomp and Jen Pomp.
From that humble beginning, the business moved to a larger downtown store at 202 Third St. NW, then added 218 Home + Gift (later renamed 218 Clothing + Gift) and The Fort children鈥檚 shop while also developing a robust online retail operation.
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Now, the two storefront businesses have combined at the 202 Third St. location to form 218 + Yellow Umbrella. That location had been doubled in size in 2019 in a remodeling project that took over the space that had been occupied by two smaller stores, The Fort and Sports Page card shop.
Jen and Jennifer met when they were dating their future husbands, brothers Jon and Andy Pomp. Now, all four are owners of the enterprise. Jon and Andy work primarily with the online business, designing, printing, marketing and ordering merchandise.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been fortunate enough to grow it to the point where it does sustain both of our families and all four of our main jobs,鈥� Jen said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e a team. We were always interested in making things, and Jennifer鈥檚 family had always done a lot of craft shows. I had done a lot of retail work. And we knew a lot of people who made things.
"So when we first opened our (Nymore) store it was all handmade items. We brought it here (downtown) and then slowly started bringing in some clothing. The community just loved that, so we brought in more and more.鈥�
They opened 218 Home + Gift in the old First National Bank Bemidji building at 223 Third St. NW in 2014, later changing the name to 218 Clothing + Gift. At first, it sold mostly gift items. But when the store introduced a hoodie with the word 鈥淗ome鈥� on the state of Minnesota, things changed.
鈥淧eople loved those,鈥� Jen Pomp said, 鈥渁nd that kind of blew up. So we added more clothing. We just found that people wanted that in our community, to have more options for clothes.鈥�
Hoodies and sweatshirts continue to be hot sellers in the newly combined store.
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鈥淪ales are up,鈥� Jen said, 鈥渁nd people are excited that they can go to one place and get both boutique-style items from Yellow Umbrella as well as 218 Minnesota apparel.鈥�
A storied history
The buildings that now house 218 + Yellow Umbrella were constructed in 1909, according to Dan Christenson, property manager for the Pomps. They were owned by the Suman family for 110 years until the Pomps purchased them in 2019.
In 1912 George Suman opened Abraham鈥檚 Confectionary Store at 204 Third St., renaming it Third Street Candy Kitchen in 1915. Christenson said during the sale of the building four years ago, an old candy-making machine was found in the basement and given to Jerry Suman, George鈥檚 great-grandson.
The 204 building later housed the Bemidji Bootery, the Gold Bond Stamps redemption center and the Owl鈥檚 Nest Bookstore. Christenson operated his Professional Dress Uniforms store at 204 from 1992 until 2008. In 2011, the Pomps leased the building and moved Yellow Umbrella there.
Next door at 202 Third St., the Suman family operated Bemidji Bootery for many years before moving it next door. In the 1960s, the 202 building was divided into two storefronts and has housed several businesses, including the Singer Sewing Center, the Stork Shop baby boutique, Bemidji Breeze nutrition shop, Jenny鈥檚 Party Creations, the Fort and Sports Page.
After purchasing both buildings in 2019, the Pomps remodeled them into one large store with nearly 5,000 square feet of space.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to remember they built those buildings all by hand, one piece at a time,鈥� Christenson said. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l be standing for another 100 years. They鈥檙e structurally sound. It鈥檚 important to keep Ma and Pa businesses going, to compete with the Walmarts and the Targets. I think we鈥檝e done a good job of that. I think it鈥檚 a very good, viable downtown.鈥�
The Trust Project
