Estes Enterprises: A Minnesota family business thriving for 50 years

Back in 1973, Fred and Earline Estes had a dream of owning their own business and working for themselves. They bought a Hallmark store and slowly expanded it to a small chain of gift shops. Over the years, as their two children got older, they brought them in to work in the stores.

Now, 50 years later, Estes Enterprises, Inc. is thriving. It runs 15 retail shops inside the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and the Tampa International Airport. If you’ve flown out of MSP, you might have bought a phone charger or a snack at one of the Estes shops. 

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with the second generation of the family business about their history, managing family and workplace relationships and giving back. One way they do that is through the Fred & Earline Estes Diversity Scholarship at the University of Minnesota.

Guests 

• Frederic Estes is president of Estes Enterprises, Inc., a business started by his late parents, Fred and Earline Estes. The family-owned company began with a single Hallmark store in 1973 and now runs 15 retail stores in Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and Tampa International Airport.  

• Lisa Estes worked for her parents’ company Estes Enterprises, Inc., running the first store at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and serving as vice-president until leaving the company in 1997. She’s been an investigator with the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office for more than twenty years.

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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.