The Lava Lounge has an incredibly hip, globally-aware clientele. Our customers often comment that their trips to New York and Los Angeles never yield better shopping than they find right here in Minneapolis. We make a tremendous effort to bring in brands that have not been represented in Minneapolis, and we are often among the first five stores in the entire country to stock the newest European and Canadian young designers. A large number of Minneapolis residents have a commitment to shop locally-owned businesses, and we are fortunate to have their loyalty and support.

Because Minneapolis is limited in the number of stores to shop, we make a conscious effort while buying to not duplicate other brands that are already well-represented in the city. For example, if a line of shoes is already carried at one of the two fabulous shoe stores in our city (namely, Bay Street and Heavenly Soles), we will refrain from ordering and refer customers to their stores. While it might make more sense in the short term to capitalize on a trend already developed by another store, this is “parasitic buying.” Simply put, parasitic buying is lazy, and this technique is offensive to customers because their selection of brands in the city is merely repetitive; it is offensive to other small retailers because it is profiting at their expense. As such, if another store makes a constant effort to order brands that we already represent, it is highly likely that we will drop that brand in favor of something new that our customers have not had the opportunity to buy before. Parasitic buying is done by small boutiques and majors alike; unfortunately when you are located in the same city as the headquarters of a major chain store, the trend team from that chain is constantly monitoring your buying decisions. Our buying philosophy is riskier and involves more work, but we would not be happy with ourselves or our stores if we did things differently.

One of the most pleasant aspects of our business is the diversity of the clientele; it is impossible to label our “average” customer, because all three stores appeal to such a wide variety. Every once in a while this leads to an absurd scenario that will make us smile – a young, handsome Hollywood star will be

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In addition, we take pleasure in our mutually beneficial relationship with the talented and hard-working Djs, musicians, and artists in our community. Most of our playlist for the store is chosen by Doug Srenaski, the former manager of Let It Be records. Christian James and So Supreme are two of our favorite local talents for in-store play, and we support the vision of CXR and Vagabondage in the parties that they promote in any way possible. We have held several shows of artwork by underground locals such as Richard Luka and Mari Newman. The Lava Lounge and the Cockpit Project have also made three appearances doing runway shows for the DIFFA (Design Industry Foundation Fighting AIDS) event at International Market Square that raises upwards of $250,000 annually for AIDS-related charities.

The gay community in this city has always been loyal and supportive of our store. It is certainly not an exaggeration to say that the positive energy of our city is due to the creativity and style of the large gay population. Granted, there are many fabulous and creative straights, but the gay population has set an incredibly high standard that others strive to meet. Tourists shopping in our stores from other cities marvel at this energy – and it is our job as retailers and citizens (regardless of sexual orientation) to keep this energy alive. Go out more, dress up more, be more expressive, have more fun. This energy keeps our friends who are turning forty looking twenty-five. The media-announced trend of “New Conservatism” adds 15 years on anyone’s appearance and makes him/her indistinguishable from the masses; it is a trick to keep any deviation oppressed.

We have lasted longer than many other businesses in this city because we have always tried to stay out of the “political” fray of dividing within a community. We work hard to have good businesses, we put our money back into improving them, and we respect our customers. Apparently this has not gone without notice, as we have recently had several unsolicited offers from customers to buy our stores or franchise the concept in other cities. We see this as the ultimate compliment.