February 26, 2025

By Austen Neaton

The Glencoe Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a unique ribbon-cutting ceremony Feb. 12 that celebrated two businesses, serving as a grand opening for one and a re-grand opening for the other.
These two businesses are The Rolling Pin Event Center and MelissaLee Photography, both of which are located in the same building at 708 11th Street East.
The latter is owned by Melissa Cohrs, while she and her husband, David, are the co-owners of the former. The couple said they are thrilled to be investing in Glencoe and that they look forward to sharing their space with the community.
Another interesting twist to the ribbon-cutting ceremony was that Melissa led the event not only as the owner of the new businesses but also as the current president of the Glencoe Area Chamber of Commerce.
However, for much of the event, she was able to enjoy herself solely as a business owner.
“My board of directors is great at jumping in and helping with stuff like this, so being that I am the one who owns the building and who’s hosting the open house and everything here, the board helped to lead the ceremony,” she said. “The chamber was happy to see us opening this brand new space as something that is going to bring opportunities to Glencoe and just be something really fun and new here.”
Cohrs added that the event was well-attended by the chamber board, city leaders, family, and friends.
“We had a great group of people that showed up to help support us, and it was really nice to welcome the community to our space,” she said.
While the space is unique in that it hosts two businesses, this was not always the couple’s intention. Initially, the building was meant to serve as a permanent home for MelissaLee Photography, which Melissa has owned and operated since about 2010.
However, after seeing the location for the first time, the couple instantly began to envision something bigger than themselves, and with the official opening of The Rolling Pin Event Center, that vision has now become a reality.

MelissaLee Photography

MelissaLee Photography began 14 years ago when Cohrs was forced to start her own photography business after she was unable to find photography work with another company.
Her business largely revolved around wedding photography until about 2019. Today, it has two main focuses: wedding photography and boudoir photography. 
While most are familiar with the first focus, many may be entirely unaware of the second.
Boudoir photography is a style that celebrates a woman’s beauty and confidence. Photos in this style often feature women posing in lingerie; however, according to Cohrs, they are about much more than looking “sexy.”
“It is more than just taking photos; it is helping you see your true beauty, inside and out, no matter what you are wearing, to stop doubting yourself and to be the confident woman you are meant to be,” she said. “My mission is to lead and inspire women to be their most confident selves and to change how they look at themselves.”
While Cohrs has been taking wedding photography for the past 14 years, she didn’t venture into boudoir photography until around 2019. It initially started as a way for her to continue earning money through the winter months when weddings were less common, but her passion for boudoir quickly evolved.
“It grew into so much more than that; I learned so much about myself doing this, it helped me gain confidence in myself, I learned about body image issues, and I saw how I could help other women learn some of those same things themselves,” Cohrs said. “I realized I could help them change how they talked about themselves and build confidence and realize that they are much prettier than they think they are. It grew into this big movement of helping women and boosting their confidence because as women, we need more of that in our lives.”
In 2021, she made boudoir photography a full-time focus and never looked back. The year prior, she formed a partnership with Heather Petersen, owner of a Glencoe-based women’s retreat and event center called The Femme Farm.
Petersen allowed Cohrs to use a room at her farm as a photography studio, and that remained her workspace until about 2022 when she began renting a new space in Glencoe. This new space was her headquarters until she and David acquired their new location early last year.
Melissa said that boudoir photography has been extremely fulfilling. She has had several clients see their photos after a session and cry because it was the first time they truly saw themselves as being pretty. Melissa added that there have been many instances where she cried with her clients.
“It has really blossomed into a confidence boost for women to help them see how beautiful they are, change how they think about themselves, and just really help them focus on self-love,” she said.
Her new location features a studio area where photo sessions take place as well as an office area where they can immediately review their photos with Melissa. While Cohrs has lingerie and clothing available for clients to use, most bring their own.
For a boudoir session, she charges an initial fee of $295 upfront to book and secure a date. Individual images start at $325, and collections of popular products start at $997.
All sessions include one hour of studio coverage, three outfit changes, posing guidance and outfit picking help, professional hair and makeup performed by a local professional, and the opportunity to order photos immediately following a session.
Cohrs said she places a huge emphasis on clients being comfortable throughout the boudoir sessions.
“That’s a big reason why I offer hair and makeup first because no matter who you are when you walk in to do this, you’re going to be super nervous,” she said. “Getting to do the hair and makeup beforehand gives them a little bit of time to just relax before they have to be in front of the camera.”
“For the women who know how the session works, it’s really about reiterating that it’s about investing in themselves and keeping that self-confidence in who they are,” she added. “If it’s somebody who’s never done this before, they might think it’s just all about sexiness and being naked, so it’s important to make sure they know that it’s about a lot more than that. It’s about building self-confidence and just seeing who you are and loving that person.”
More information about Cohrs’s boudoir sessions, as well as her wedding photography packages, can be found on her website at www.melissaleephotos.com or by calling her at 507-822-3064. She can also be found on Instagram and Facebook.

The Rolling Pin Event Center

The idea for the Rolling Pin Event Center was sparked into existence the first time that Melissa and David toured their new location in late 2023. 
David is a Glencoe native with a passion for history and reinvesting in his hometown, and not long into their tour of their building, he began to envision the space as an event center that could be shared with the community.
While Melissa had originally been the one who was more excited about the prospect of acquiring the building, she became nervous about doing so during the tour, but it didn’t take much convincing for her to share David’s vision.
“I figured I wasn’t going to use it every day for photography, and even when I’m booked as much as I want to be booked, I’m still not here every day, so using it as an event center seemed like a great way to share our space with the people of Glencoe,” Melissa said.
She was also open to the idea because of times in the past when she and others had a difficult time finding a site suitable for hosting certain events.
“My desire to share this space with the community really came from the fact that when David and I got married, my bridesmaids had a hard time finding a place that they wanted to host a bridal shower at, and so that kind of sparked the idea, and with me already being connected to the women’s side of things and weddings, I just wanted to offer this space for others who were in our position,” Melissa said.
Much to the couple’s delight, the building is more than 150 years old and was in great condition when they first checked it out. They ended up closing on the location about two to three months after their initial tour.
Because it was in such great condition, it required only a few renovations, though it still took about a year for them to get it ready for a grand opening ceremony.
The event center utilizes the open room that Melissa uses for her photography sessions. It fits around 35 sitting guests, or about 49 standing. It is equipped with lighting, speaker systems, a selfie station, and amenities such as tables, chairs, a kitchenette, and a refrigerator.
The space can be used to host intimate gatherings such as bridal showers, baby showers, birthday parties, graduation celebrations, family reunions, meetings, and corporate events.
David came up with the idea to name the business The Rolling Pin Event Center after learning that the building spent 60 years as a bakery called The Rolling Pin Bakery.
He felt the name was a perfect fit and that a separate name for the event center would also help to distinguish it from the photography business. He was also happy to honor the building’s history.
Melissa was all for the name, as she said that many in town still know the building as The Rolling Pin Bakery.
The space costs $50 per hour to rent, and it must be rented for at least three hours, meaning rates essentially start at $150, though there are discounts available when renting it for a longer amount of time.
More information about the event center can be found at www.glencoerollingpin.com.

Airbnb

For the Cohrs, the cherry on top of their new location is the apartment located on its upper level, which they also own. Since last July, the couple has rented out the space as an Airbnb, and in the relatively short time since, it has become the highest-rated Airbnb in Glencoe.
He added that it has been booked out consistently since it became available to rent. Melissa said that she has enjoyed speaking with the renters about their reasons for staying there, as many are in town for work or to visit the Glencoe area for various reasons.
David said that their Airbnb’s success has also taken the pressure off of the event center since it does not need to bring in a profit for the building to be successful.
“The upstairs is doing way better than we ever thought it would, and that gives us a lot more leeway with the event center – we can treat it a little more casually and really make sure it benefits the community,” he said. https://airbnb.com/h/rollingpinloft

Editor’s note: This article appeared in the Feb. 21 edition of the McLeod County Chronicle. See it HERE.