The Wooden Spoon celebrated 34 years in business this Saturday. The store specializing in Scandinavian foods and gifts has become much more than a business to many people. It’s served as a refuge for transplants from far-flung locales yearning for the comforts of home. It’s also been a place where people come to learn about Nordic cultures over coffee, a fresh batch of cookies, or some homemade lefse.
Owner Gwen Welk Workman established the business in 1986 at a spot in downtown McKinney. She’d recently moved to North Texas from a small Minnesota town. The shop was a way for her to share her Norwegian heritage with her new neighbors.
“Coming here was like moving to a new country,” she says. “I’d never moved before in my life. When I moved here everything was so totally different.”
After a few years in McKinney, she set up shop at Fairview Farms in Plano. She relocated again in 1992, this time to the historic Foreman house at 1717 K Avenue.
She has been there ever since. However, she may not be there much longer. Gwen, who turned 82 last week, is ready to move on. She recently put her space for sale and hopes to find the right buyer.
“I’m not in a hurry to sell. I don’t need to sell financially or medically,” she says. “It’s just time. A year ago the time wasn’t right, but now it is right.”
