Jun. 22—ROCHESTER — A recent northeast Rochester real estate deal clears the way for Nature’s Best Cleaners to set up shop in a quirky “landmark” building.

Adam Marquardt, who has owned Nature’s Best for two years, paid $500,000 on May 30 for the 576-square-foot cottage at 445 Alliance Place NE. The 20-year-old building is located just off of 37th Street Northeast next to Energy Products & Design.

Mona Properties of Rochester sold the property. Mona acquired it in October 2023 from Clean 20/20 LLC. Clean 20/20, led by Miki Radovanovic, purchased the building in 2021 for $280,000.

Jay Christenson’s Loam Commercial Real Estate team in Rochester handled the deal.

“We think it’s going to be a great visible spot for a Nature’s Best pick up and drop off site,” said Marquardt. “It should be a good fit for us.”

He hopes to have the new location up and running by early fall. Once the Alliance Place site opens, it will replace the nearby Nature’s Best store at 3120 Wellner Drive NE, next to Whistle Binkies North. The two staffers who currently work at the Wellner Drive site will shift to the Alliance Place building.

Marquardt sees this project as a way to remind people about Nature’s Best.

“We’re one of the biggest dry cleaners in the state. We go all over southeastern Minnesota, in Wisconsin and Iowa. We have four locations and 38 employees,” he said. “And yet, somehow, a lot of people don’t know we exist in Rochester. I think this will give us a lot better visibility.”

The unusual building was originally built in 2004 to house Paradise Island, a drive-in coffee and ice shop owned by Molly Haskins and her sister-in-law Karyn Haskins. It was also home to the Smokehouse BBQ Shack and Nowhere Special Coffee & Fresh Sandwiches prior to Clean 20/20.