Longtime North Loop Fixture Turning Out The Lights
After 60 years at the corner of North 2nd Street and 2nd Avenue, Industrial Lighting Supply is calling it quits and putting its fixtures, bulbs, switches and other electrical supplies on sale.
Todd Stegora-Peterson, whose father bought the building in 1960, has been running the business for the past 15 years or so since his father passed away.
“The economy hasn’t been kind the last few years,” he said. “Covid was probably the last nail in the coffin. Since we own the building it’s the most valuable asset of the whole company, really.” He said competition in recent years from big box stores and larger distributors put his family-owned business at a big disadvantage.
1980s photo: Hennepin Co Library
“Being my whole life, it’s a little bit of a struggle,” said Stegora-Peterson. “It’s been a fight, with things going on in the city, things going on with Covid and competition.”
He remembers sweeping and mopping the floors of his dad’s showroom as a kid, back when the North Loop had few restaurants and none of the boutique shops that we see today. “This area was the junky area for the most part,” he said. “Many of these buildings were just the pits.”
Now, he’s looking to sell or lease the building, and the last day of business will be December 31st. Residential as well as commercial customers are welcome to take advantage of their closing sale.
By Mike Binkley, North Loop Neighborhood Association
