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Independence, MO —
Twenty-five years ago, Nina Anders opened a shop on the Square just days before one of the highest foot-traffic days in Independence.
No, not Black Friday. No, not just before Christmas, Valentine’s Day or other holidays. Anders opened Scandinavia Place at 209 Main St. just days before the start of Santa-Cali-Gon Days. Anders’ husband of now nearly 49 years, Ira, and her father worked all summer to open the storefront.
“We thought, ‘Why wouldn’t you want all those people coming by your store and coming in?’” Nina Anders says. “I love it. I love Santa-Cali-Gon. You know, it’s like Independence’s own reunion. You can’t come up here and not see people you know. Everybody’s happy. Everybody likes to talk to you. It’s just a fun time.”
She’s experienced repeat customers, those who stop up on the Square just once a year during Santa-Cali-Gon. Anders and her store associates also have become friends with the kettle corn vendor in front of Ophelia’s.
“They give us popcorn, and we always give them a little Swedish chocolate or something,” Anders says.
The Square was different in 1987, nearly a full decade before Ken and Cindy McClain began rehabbing storefronts and opening restaurants and specialty stores.
“Shirley Baker (the former owner of Courthouse Exchange) used to say you could roll a bowling ball down Main Street and nobody would care,” Anders says.
But still, Anders says, she didn’t even consider another storefront or location for opening her business, the name of which honors her heritage. Anders was born in Iceland and lived there until age 2.
While the store originally featured mostly Scandinavian-items like gifts and foods, the business has evolved to include a mixture of jewelry, candles and Vera Bradley merchandise.
Then there are those passersby who, every year, ask Anders if she opened her store just for Santa-Cali-Gon Days weekend, as well as the locals who haven’t heard of Scandinavia Place despite its presence in the same location for 25 years.
“Santa-Cali-Gon has been just wonderful for us because when we’re buying things, we’re buying for the fall and Christmas season,” she says. “This gives us a little expendable income to pay the bills for that. Otherwise, it’d be hard because you don’t make that money until November and December. I love Santa-Cali-Gon about as much as I love tourism, and I think tourism is another hidden gem in Independence.”
Anders says she has never considered closing her doors during the festival.
“Retail means people. If you’re in retail, that means you want people to come in,” she says. “We have all of those people at Santa-Cali-Gon, and I’ve never understood why people would not be open, day and night.”
Twenty-five years ago, Nina Anders opened a shop on the Square just days before one of the highest foot-traffic days in Independence.
No, not Black Friday. No, not just before Christmas, Valentine’s Day or other holidays. Anders opened Scandinavia Place at 209 Main St. just days before the start of Santa-Cali-Gon Days. Anders’ husband of now nearly 49 years, Ira, and her father worked all summer to open the storefront.
“We thought, ‘Why wouldn’t you want all those people coming by your store and coming in?’” Nina Anders says. “I love it. I love Santa-Cali-Gon. You know, it’s like Independence’s own reunion. You can’t come up here and not see people you know. Everybody’s happy. Everybody likes to talk to you. It’s just a fun time.”
She’s experienced repeat customers, those who stop up on the Square just once a year during Santa-Cali-Gon. Anders and her store associates also have become friends with the kettle corn vendor in front of Ophelia’s.
“They give us popcorn, and we always give them a little Swedish chocolate or something,” Anders says.
The Square was different in 1987, nearly a full decade before Ken and Cindy McClain began rehabbing storefronts and opening restaurants and specialty stores.
“Shirley Baker (the former owner of Courthouse Exchange) used to say you could roll a bowling ball down Main Street and nobody would care,” Anders says.
But still, Anders says, she didn’t even consider another storefront or location for opening her business, the name of which honors her heritage. Anders was born in Iceland and lived there until age 2.
While the store originally featured mostly Scandinavian-items like gifts and foods, the business has evolved to include a mixture of jewelry, candles and Vera Bradley merchandise.
Then there are those passersby who, every year, ask Anders if she opened her store just for Santa-Cali-Gon Days weekend, as well as the locals who haven’t heard of Scandinavia Place despite its presence in the same location for 25 years.
“Santa-Cali-Gon has been just wonderful for us because when we’re buying things, we’re buying for the fall and Christmas season,” she says. “This gives us a little expendable income to pay the bills for that. Otherwise, it’d be hard because you don’t make that money until November and December. I love Santa-Cali-Gon about as much as I love tourism, and I think tourism is another hidden gem in Independence.”
Anders says she has never considered closing her doors during the festival.
“Retail means people. If you’re in retail, that means you want people to come in,” she says. “We have all of those people at Santa-Cali-Gon, and I’ve never understood why people would not be open, day and night.”
