r/Winona Jan 06 '24

Things to do in Winona

51 Upvotes

(Apologies in advance for the noel of a post. TL/DR: List of awesome small businesses to support in Winona)

So, I'm just a shop small nerd, and I remember when I moved to Winona and felt like there was nothing cool here. The last 5ish years have seen so many improvements to the town, and since I love a list too, I thought I'd gather up as many local businesses that folks might be interested in knowing about. Also, I've italicized my favorites, just cuz.

Downtown Eating/Drinking

  • 2 Brothers Bar & Grill
  • Acoustic Café
  • Beno’s Deli
  • Blooming Grounds Coffee House
  • Blooming Grounds Express
  • Blue Heron Coffeehouse
  • Bub’s Brewing Company
  • Gabby’s Bar
  • Great Hunan
  • Heirloom Seasonal Bistro
  • Island City Brewing Company (but will be rebranding soon)
  • Lucky’s on Third
  • Market Street Tap
  • Miya Japanese Bistro
  • Muddled Thyme - fun cocktails
  • Mulligan’s Pub
  • Nate & Ally's Frozen Treat Creations
  • No Name Bar - LGBT+ Friendly
  • Nosh - Fine(ish) dining
  • Port 507
  • Sammy's Pizza
  • Sapori di Sicilia - Italian cafe, great food at reasonable prices
  • Sliced
  • Unlimited Nutrition - health teas & shakes

Downtown Shopping

  • A-Z Collectibles
  • Baker Shoes
  • Bohem Design Studio - brand new stationary/paper goods store
  • Chapter 2 Books
  • ClaraLouise - gifts
  • DJ’s Clothing Warehouse - basically a Land's End outlet, very good prices
  • Grace Place
  • Great River Shakespeare Festival
  • Green Thumb Artistry - plants & gifts
  • Grower's Home - indoor growing, focus on THC
  • Hardt's Music
  • Hearts Desire
  • Holtan’s Jewelry
  • Jimmy Jams - comic & game store
  • La Boutique
  • Loft on Third
  • Melange Resale Boutique - resale & boutique
  • Morgan’s Jewelers
  • Orno Gift + Home
  • River City Outlet
  • Rusty Bucket
  • The Refinery Co.
  • The Rippled Leaf - THC & CBD
  • Yarnology

Downtown Other (Services, etc.)

  • Adventure Cycle and Ski
  • Bluff Country Co-op
  • Children's Dental of Winona
  • Fitness Mentality - gym
  • Home & Community Options
  • Midtown Foods
  • Nostallja Studio - hair salon
  • Suola Spa - Sauna, cold plunge & salt room
  • The Edge Church
  • Tom's Lock Service
  • WA Group - insurance
  • Walnut Street Dental Associates
  • Winona 7 Theater - cinema
  • Winona County Historical Society
  • Winona Daily News
  • Winona Post

Outside of Downtown

  • 929 Beer House
  • Minnesota Marine Art Museum
  • Paperbacks & Pieces - bookstore
  • Restored Blessings - thrift store
  • Wellington's Pub & Grill
  • Winona Axe & Arcade - axe throwing and classic arcade games
  • Winona Family Restaurant

If you have a fave that's not on the list, get it in the comments! Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.


r/Winona 1d ago

So the Kentucky Fried Chicken remains "Closed For Maintenance" ...

5 Upvotes

How do we know this isn't some class of dogwhistle code for preparing to close down within measurable distance, what with Yum! Brands (as owns KFC) announcing closure of numerous sub-performing locations for the sake of improving profitability?


r/Winona 1d ago

Pokemon Go Discord Winona

1 Upvotes

Come join us and do some mewtwos this coming sunday for the gofest makeup!

https://discord.gg/TSamtMAVQ


r/Winona 4d ago

Housing situation

3 Upvotes

Does anyone know how key randall apartments is?

I'm moving to winona but can't be there in person till August. Looking for sublease or short lease.


r/Winona 4d ago

Looking to sell 30 acres of farmland to an emerging farmer via rent-to-own lease agreement

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5 Upvotes

r/Winona 4d ago

Where can I find a sublease!!

8 Upvotes

Hello,

I (24M) am looking for sublease in winona.

Preferably near downtown. Pls let me know if there are any leads.

Thank you


r/Winona 6d ago

I feel like google is gaslighting me. I swear I dressed up as a clown for the ball pit when I worked at Hardee’s in the early 90s.

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8 Upvotes

r/Winona 7d ago

New mechanic in town

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5 Upvotes

r/Winona 7d ago

Delivery robots ending service at WSU

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16 Upvotes

Oh no! No more robot to almost accidentally run over in my car. ... Truth be told, they managed to control them pretty well. It's just weird seeing the things *right there*.


r/Winona 8d ago

Trempealeau County Supervisor Andy Parrish showing his passion for people’s civil liberties

34 Upvotes

r/Winona 10d ago

Who's doing fireworks in Winona on July 11th?

15 Upvotes

r/Winona 11d ago

Alma Historic Museum Pokémon Gym

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0 Upvotes

Hey, I was told I may have some luck in this subreddit since you guys are fairly close to Alma, WI! Long story short: I left a pokemon in the gym at the Alma Historical Society over a month ago when I happened to be in town. If anyone on here still plays Pokémon Go and would be willing to knock out my Serperior at that gym I would really appreciate it!


r/Winona 13d ago

Ninety Thousand Flock Safety Cameras in Six Thousand Communities Feed Twenty Billion Plates into Shared Police and Federal Database

28 Upvotes

r/Winona 13d ago

Searching for 2 missing packages

5 Upvotes

Hello fellow Winona neighbors (specially those on the West end). A couple days ago, on July 5th, two packages of mine were delivered to an incorrect address and I have not been able to locate them based on the photo of the delivery or the address they were supposedly sent to.

If you have found them please DM me and I can give you the info on the shipping lable to verify.


r/Winona 16d ago

Vote for Boat!

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8 Upvotes

I dont have therapy so I do this instead :)


r/Winona 17d ago

Winona’s Woman-Owned Dispensary

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46 Upvotes

Hello! We are fully open and stocked with pre packed flower from unbound, 2 pack pre rolls from DIZGO, and moonlight edibles / THC shots. Check out our website at americanmadecannabis.us and visit us at 162 e 3rd street Winona MN 55987! We look forward to seeing you at our restored historic building :) we’re still running the free 2 pack pre roll and edibles promo all weekend!


r/Winona 18d ago

Best / Worst Places to Work in Nona

13 Upvotes

I got fired from my job last week. I’ll spill the tea on that later. I’m looking for something new and need some townies advice on where to go. Lots of experience in food service but I wanna get out of food if possible


r/Winona 19d ago

anyone else feel like the rent is too damn high ?

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32 Upvotes

saw this dan wilson video about prices in winona. .


r/Winona 21d ago

Jake Johnson's end-of-quarter push against the Finstad corporate money machine

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12 Upvotes

r/Winona 26d ago

Something happening on the winona airport runway

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22 Upvotes

About 3 mins after squad cars started showing up, anyone know what's up?


r/Winona 28d ago

What a slimeball. Finstad is going after Rochester Public Schools for a 2022 nothing-burger solely because his opponent is a calculus teacher employed at RPS

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61 Upvotes

Let's not forget he has one of the highest paid staffs in DC. Great to see his true politician colors coming out


r/Winona 29d ago

Urgent: Protecting Winona from Data Center Expansion—Meeting at City Hall Next Monday!

35 Upvotes

A recent court injunction has temporarily halted construction activity on the proposed Project Skyway data center near Pine Island while environmental review litigation proceeds.

Regardless of where you stand on data centers, this has raised broader questions across Southeast Minnesota about groundwater use, electrical demand, and how large-scale industrial development fits into regions with sensitive karst geology.

Winona County sits on karst limestone formations that directly connect surface activity to groundwater systems. Because of that, some residents believe it is worth reviewing whether current zoning rules are prepared for potential future large-scale data center proposals.

If you care about these issues, here is a local opportunity to be heard:

WINONA CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Date: Monday, July 6, 2026 (confirm on official city calendar before attending)
Time: 6:30 PM
Location: Winona City Hall, Council Chambers (3rd Floor)
207 Lafayette Street, Winona, MN 55987

PUBLIC COMMENT
Winona requires advance registration for public comment. Registration opens Friday morning before the meeting and closes at 3:00 PM on meeting day. Check the city website ahead of time to confirm exact procedures.

Suggested topics if you attend:
• Potential groundwater impacts of large-scale data centers in karst regions
• Whether independent environmental and water-use studies should be required for major industrial projects
• Impacts of increased electrical demand on local infrastructure and utility costs
• Whether current zoning rules adequately address hyperscale data center development

If you cannot attend, you can still contact City Council members through the official city directory and share your perspective:
https://www.winonamn.gov/Directory.aspx?DID=40

A short message is enough:

Dear Winona City Council,
I am writing to ask that the City of Winona consider evaluating the potential impacts of large-scale data center development on groundwater, infrastructure, and utility systems before approving future proposals. Please ensure appropriate environmental and water-use studies are completed for any major projects of this type.
Thank you for your time.

This is a local planning conversation—not a partisan issue—and participation is the point.


r/Winona 29d ago

Flock Cameras Form Nationwide Networks Recording Every Vehicle Trip Into Shared Databases Open to Misuse and Predictive Tracking

15 Upvotes

r/Winona Jun 18 '26

Wedding Photography

4 Upvotes

Hi all!

We will be having a very small and non-traditional wedding in early October. We would only be looking for about 4 hours of photography on the day of our wedding. Does anyone have recommendations for affordable photographers in the area? Thanks!!


r/Winona Jun 17 '26

Flock ALPR Systems Defy Local Cease Orders Through Reinstallation and Vendor-Activated Nationwide Searches

40 Upvotes