After decades of business, the corner shop at 127 North Minnesota Street closes for the last time Saturday, Jan. 21.

Owners Al and Cindy Stabenow have decided to retire with the business being sold to Lindsay Henn, who will reopen the business as the Christmas Haus later this spring.

The last days of Guten Tag Haus have been extremely busy. Several longtime customers have been visiting the store one last time in order to say goodbye and purchase some of the unique items.

The Guten Tag Haus is one of the rare stores in New ULm selling authentic German items ranging from Christmas ornaments and cuckoo clocks to beer steins and German food.

Saturday day is the last day in business for the Guten Tag Haus. The business at 127 N. Minnesota Street will be closing with owners Al and Cindy Stabenow retiring.

Al Stabenow purchased the Guten Tag Haus in 2006. He said the idea was to keep the identity of the business going, but said things changed based on customer demand. He said one of the greatest changes in the store since he bought it was a decrease in collectors.

Customers still come in every year to purchase certain specialty items like smokers or nutcrackers, but the desire to collect the new seasonal model every year is done.

Cindy Stabenow said during COVID, customers wanted to buy home furnishing items. They saw an increase in cuckoo clocks sales as well as German food.

Much of the shop’s business comes from tourists visiting New Ulm. The Guten Tag Haus draws in many visitors from out of town. Cindy said at least once a week, a person will visit the shop from Twin Cities and Rochester. It is not unusual to have customers come in from the Dakotas or Nebraska.

The Guten Tag Haus’ busiest season is always Oktoberfest. The two-weekend festival always brings in a crowd from out of town. The Christmas shopping season is the second busiest time. The Stabenows said immediately after Oktoberfest, people begin shopping for the holidays. The chocolate advent calendars would start selling out in late October.

The Stabenows decided to retire last summer but wanted to find the right person to purchase the building before closing. It did not take long before they found Lindsay Henn who plans to run a similarly themed business, called The Christmas Haus of New Ulm. The staff from Guten Tag Haus will carry over to the new business.

Al Stabenow said The Christmas Haus shares the name with a former business run by Curt and Donna Lambrecht, but is a different entity.

The Christmas Haus will operate at the Guten Tag Haus location, 127 N. Minnesota St., and will sell many similar items. Henn confirmed German import items will always be a part of the store, but she will expand into Scandinavian items, products from Sweden, Denmark and Norway

The Christmas Haus is expected to open in the spring following some renovations. The Guten Tag Haus will close after Saturday. All items in the store are at a significant discount.

The Stabenows wanted to thank all their patrons for their support over the years. Cindy said the best part of the business was meeting customers and helping them find whatever fit their needs.