Three local businesses have been named winners of the 2025 St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce Business Awards, recognizing their business successes and commitment to their communities.
Great Harvest Bread Company, Williams Dingmann Family Funeral Homes and Modern Barnyard were all named winners of the Chamber’s awards Thursday.
Mark and DeNae Hiltner of Great Harvest in Waite Park were named Small Business Owners of the Year, an honor DeNae Hiltner said they did not see coming.
“We were surprised,” she said. “When you get interviewed and you go through the process, you just know there’s a lot of great businesses out there, so you don’t hold your breath.”
DeNae Hiltner said they found out about the win a few weeks ago, but the hardest part was keeping it quiet for so long. Now that the couple is able to talk about it, she said the news is finally sinking in.
The Hiltners first opened their business in 2000, and it now sells about 40 bread flavors, rotating through different ones throughout the year. The shop also offers many sweet treats and some soups and sandwiches.
The bakery’s long presence in the community and strong connection with many regular customers may have helped contribute to the win, DeNae Hiltner said.
“Mike and I still work the store daily, so we know most of our customers; we know most of the people that are requesting donations and the organizations that we work with… a lot of people love to come in here because it smells good, and we’re nice and we have a great product, so to have all that recognized is really rewarding,” she said.
Doug Jr. and Deb Dingmann of Williams Dingmann Family Funeral Homes won the Chamber’s Family-Owned Business of the Year award.
Williams Dingmann Family Funeral Homes has been operating in the St. Cloud area for over 150 years and now has nine locations in the region.
Doug Jr. and Deb Dingmann, the fourth-generation siblings now leading the business, “continue to be a pillar of support in Central Minnesota, carrying forward a legacy that spans five generations through growth and compassion,” a Chamber release about the awards said.
The team has also continued to evolve their business over the decades to adapt to a changing industry and customer needs, remodeling their St. Cloud location and adding their sister company Cremations A Simple Way to serve changing preferences for cremation services.
Jim Beck and John Malikowski, the team behind the St. Cloud décor and gift shop Modern Barnyard, won the Chamber’s Entrepreneurial Success Award.
“It was amazing; it makes you realize all the hard you put in, working seven days a week and all of that stuff pays off,” Beck said.
The store first opened in 2017 and has continued to grow its inventory since then. It also completed an expansion in 2023, doubing its size to 12,000 square feet.
With the expansion, Modern Barnyard also adapted its inventory from only repurposed furniture to also include gifts, clothes, linens and other boutique items, especially to stay relevant and appeal to shoppers disappointed by Pier 1’s closure, Beck said.
“I think we’ve been innovative,” he said. “When people come in, it’s going to be your one stop shop, so I think that’s made it very exciting for people.”
Ater a round of interviews with nominees, an awards selection committee chose the winners from nominations submitted by Chamber members and the business community. Next, the winners will be recognized at a May 7 Business Awards Luncheon at the Park Event Center.
Teagan King covers business and development for the St. Cloud Times. She can be reached at teking@gannett.com.
