Stearns Motors -- Lou Stearns was the owner of Stearn’s Motors. In its day Stearn’s Motors was a automobile repair shop and also a garage to park and store automobiles. There were actually five businesses in Strearn’s Motors. The Auto Repair, the Auto Storage Business, a soft drink bottling and wholesale business, a beer and wine wholesale business and apartment rentals. Lou Stearns was reported to have been a generous man. If someone he knew came to him and was down on their luck he would give them a five dollar bill. In those days that was a decent sum of money.
The Soft Drink Business – The soft drink business started in the Stearns Motors building as part of Minot Beverage Company. My understanding is that at one time there was a bottling operation in the basement of Stearns Motors. This was eventually moved to South Broadway and became Northern Bottling Company, which is still in business today
Stearn's Motors is now the home of I Keating Furniture