Local Entrepreneur Brings Northbound Girl Boutique Back to Perham
Northbound Girl opened in Perham on November 20, 2025 at 710 Third Avenue SE, returning an established boutique concept to the lakes area and adding curated apparel for children and women. The new store enhances downtown retail options, supports local entrepreneurship, and aims to capture spending that residents might otherwise take to larger shopping centers.
Shawna Rose opened a Northbound Girl boutique in Perham on November 20, 2025, occupying space at 710 Third Avenue SE and bringing her boutique concept back to the lakes area. The newly built out shop features white beams, a greenery wall, a chic chandelier and dedicated changing rooms, and will offer a curated inventory targeted across multiple generations from children to women. The Perham location is intended to complement the existing downtown retail mix and provide a local shopping experience tailored to community tastes.
Rose, a 1989 Perham High School graduate, previously operated a Northbound Girl store at the Detroit Lakes mall. Her decision to return to Perham situates the boutique within a familiar market while responding to demand for more locally based retail options. The store’s design and merchandise strategy emphasize an in person retail experience distinct from online shopping, with visual merchandising and fitting rooms built into the space to attract families and shoppers who prioritize trying on clothing before purchase.
For Otter Tail County residents the opening has both symbolic and practical implications. Perham is part of a county that serves roughly 60,000 residents, a customer base that supports downtown businesses in small cities and towns across the region. New storefronts can help sustain pedestrian traffic for neighboring retailers and restaurants, and they can recapture expenditures that might otherwise flow to larger regional centers. The store will also expand the town’s children retail offerings, a niche that can draw local families into downtown more frequently.
From a market perspective the arrival of Northbound Girl reflects broader trends in independent retail, where experiential layout and carefully curated assortments are used to compete with online and big box alternatives. For local policymakers and economic development officials, such openings can be a useful indicator of downtown vitality and private investment in commercial corridors. Maintaining storefront occupancy contributes to visible signs of economic health and can support property values and municipal sales tax receipts.
Residents can expect the boutique to operate alongside other downtown merchants, adding variety to Perham’s retail scene. By returning to her hometown market, Rose is reconnecting a local entrepreneurial story to the community, while offering an in person shopping option crafted to the style and needs of area families and multigenerational shoppers.
