RUSHFORD, Minn. — From behind a glass window, visitors to Norsland Lefse can see the assembly line humming. Six to seven employees take a mixture of Russet potatoes, flour, vegetable oil and salt and put it into a rolling machine to flatten it into rounds of lefse.
This process can produce up to 2,000 rounds of lefse per day, requiring 1,000 lbs. of potatoes, according to Norsland owner Mark Johnson - and during the holiday season, that’s barely enough to keep up with demand.
There’s a reason people love Norsland so much. For people of Scandinavian descent all over the country, it’s a reminder of tradition, one perhaps their grandmothers used to keep up.
That was what entrepreneur Merlin Hoiness had in mind when he started the business, which is now in its 35th year. According to Johnson, Hoiness thought store-bought lefse was lacking.
“He thought, ‘I can do better,’” Johnson said. “He was a grocer, so he wanted to get something going with it regionally.”
Johnson and his wife Carol took over ownership in 1997, but Hoiness came up with the process still used today. He developed the recipe and the rolling machines that allow for mass-production. But every round tastes as good as a loving grandmother’s would.
Lefse came about in Norway, where potatoes were a staple in people’s diets and they needed to find a way to use up their potatoes. The Norsland team uses Russet potatoes grown in Rice Lake, Wis.
“We really try to be consistent with our recipe and the whole process,” Johnson said.
Connected all over
Their dedication to quality for this beloved specialty has paid off. They __have customers in all 50 states. And they can always count on the holiday rush.
“My math tells me that three-quarters of our business is done in a quarter of the year,” Johnson said. “It can vary from the mail-order business and the internet orders, to church dinners, to grocery stores, to distributors, to people walking in our door.”
The internet has been a huge development in helping Norsland get out the word about their products. There are some added challenges involved in shipping, with the lefse being perishable.
“When it leaves here, I want to make sure you __have it two days later,” Johnson said. “So depending on where you live, I’ll use different means. We have Priority Mail, UPS, Speedy Delivery, depending on the location and the size of the box and what it is.”
The opportunity to offer more
Another event that allowed for the business’s expansion was, oddly enough, the 2007 flood.
“We were flooded out in 2007, when Rushford as we knew it was destroyed,” Johnson said. “We moved to this location in 2008 and expanded our business. We kept our factory; expanded our gift shop; got more storage and freezers; and added a restaurant and bakery. We’re open 6 days a week year-round to cross-sell and expand our market.”
Norsland serves breakfast and lunch in its restaurant and incorporates lefse into the menu. For instance, you can order an Uff Da Wrap, which includes eggs, cheese, hash browns, vegetables and meat wrapped in lefse.
Also available are Scandinavian sweets like krumkake and rosettes, specialty cheeses, rommegrot, humorous gifts, and Uff Da Chips.
“It’s nothing other than deep-friend lefse,” Johnson said of the chips. “Uff Da Chips were developed by Merlin, kind of by mistake. I think he was trying to deep fry a piece and it came out like a tortilla chip. We put a couple different seasonings on those, cinnamon-sugar or savory salt, box those up and sell them.”
Norsland Lefse is a haven for all things Scandinavian, nestled into small town Rushford. If you want to order, it’s recommended you do so early. Order at norslandlefse.com or by calling 800-584-6777.
Norsland Lefse is at 210 W. Jessie St., Rushford.
