FARGO – Melissa Kuntz wants to welcome you to her retail home.
Kuntz is the owner of Olive and Rust, an upscale furniture, art, and decor store, which recently opened at 1001 4th Ave. N.
Kuntz offers an eclectic selection of goods, but there is a warmth to her mixing of things with a Nordic feel, mid-century modern design, and the variety of an adult life spent on the move. Above all, she wanted Olive and Rust to appeal to all ages.
“I want it to be an experience. A gathering place. I’ve traveled everywhere. I believe in really exceptional customer service. And I want it to be a place where people come to and feel welcomed,” Kuntz said Friday, Nov. 1.
Anna Paige / The Forum
Walking in you’re welcomed by a table full of soaps and candles, while a mix of jazz and Big Band tunes plays.
There’s a lot packed into the store, between couches, chairs, kitchen tables and a bevy of decorative offerings – but it’s also well-spaced and comfortable to walk around.
A back corner is a space devoted to kitchen items, with utensils, dishes, hand-blown glassware from Morocco, cookbooks and more.
Anna Paige / The Forum
“Most of the products in here have a story. Most of the brands I have used in the past,” Kuntz said. “I have a love for music and food.”
All of the furniture is for sale. It’s cash and carry, with no special orders. The furniture has a Danish/Scandinavian feel with elegant, clean curves, and warm earth tone coverings. There’s inviting sensibility in the mix of form and design, with a touch of the nostalgic in the decor.
The store is a bit like her home, Kuntz said.
“I’ve always had a lot of people at our house,” she said. “This is an extension of that. I love being with people. It fills my cup.”
Kuntz has considerable customer-service experience, with more than 20 years working in the restaurant industry, as well as real estate and in various retail settings. She finally got to open her own brick and mortar store Oct. 3.
Anna Paige / The Forum
“I’ve wanted to do this forever,” she said. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, is own my own store.”
The Bismarck native and her husband, who recently celebrated their 34th anniversary, had to travel a lot for his earlier career in the Navy.
Anna Paige / The Forum
Over 26-plus years, the couple moved often from duty station to duty station for Russell Kuntz’s life as a submariner. Russell Kuntz, a Richardton, North Dakota, native, is vice president of maintenance for Goldmark Property Management.
The couple moved back to North Dakota in 2020 during the height of the pandemic to be near their aging parents. They then decided to set their roots here.
“We fell in love with Fargo,” Kuntz said in an earlier interview.
Olive and Rust’s hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The shop is closed Sunday and Monday.
Kuntz said traffic and sales have been good over the first month.
“I’ve been pleasantly shocked,” she said.
Anna Paige / The Forum
The location at the corner of busy 10th Street and Fourth Avenue North is highly visible, and Kuntz has had people stop in before and after North Dakota State University football games. “It’s a great location.”
Kuntz has two employees. Working full time is Janessa Wasfaret, her “boutique experience lead,” and part-timer Nicollet Sletten, who also works on sales and curates the shop’s website and social media.
Olive and Rust supports organizations with missions near and dear to the Kuntz’s.
“We’re proud to support Unseen, an organization that fights human trafficking and its root causes through partner organizations around the world,” Kuntz said. “And as a family with a retired Navy veteran, we’re honored to stand behind the Minnesota/North Dakota Honor Flight (program) to support our veterans. We encourage everyone to learn more about and support these outstanding organizations!”
The building was a former home to a Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch Thrift Store, and has undergone considerable renovation inside and out.
Anna Paige / The Forum
It is now owned by The Window and Door Store of Fargo, which is still in the process of turning its half of the building into the firm’s new base of operations for the Fargo-Moorhead area.
Branch manager Andrew Sletten estimated Friday that it will be about six weeks before the new showroom is open.
“I also can’t say enough about how much we love our neighbors, the Window & Door Store,” Kuntz said “I feel incredibly blessed to be their tenant and part of such a supportive community.”
The store’s website address is
oliveandrustfm.com
.
link