In 1966, Roxy Freese opened her first Bibelot shop in a small room on Como Avenue in St. Anthony Park in St. Paul. At the time, she was in crisis and needed something to support her children. The fine-arts major took a risk on the retail gift business. She was considered a pioneer as a woman business owner and as a proprietor of a gift store, both rare back in the day.

“I started it with $10,000 and my father’s signature,” Freese said. “It really was a very early time for a woman in business. That’s why I had to have my father’s signature.”

The gamble paid off and soon regulars flocked to her carefully curated, wide-ranging and decor-inspiring gift store. The Como Avenue shop eventually expanded in size and Bibelot grew to three more shops across the Twin Cities.

Now, after 52 years in the retail gift business, Freese announced she is turning off the lights at her Bibelot shops.

“I’m 86 and it’s time for me to retire,” she said. “I’m retiring, therefore Bibelot is retiring. The shops are also retiring — that’s the word I’m using.”

Freese said she plans to move forward with closing the four stores — on Como Avenue and Grand Avenue in St. Paul as well as Linden Hills and University Avenue near East Hennepin in Minneapolis (bibelotshops.com). “The store is for sale if a buyer comes forward, but who knows?”

Freese expects the stores will close after the first of the year. “It will be open through the holidays,” she said. “It may go into January, maybe February. It’s hard to tell when everything will be all lined up.” Sales will begin Wednesday. Look for markdowns on merchandise with discounts increasing as time goes.