On St. Albans Bay on Lake Minnetonka, Bean’s Greenwood Marina has been providing lake-goers with all their boating needs for more than 40 years. Owner and marina manager Aaron Bean, whose father Jim purchased the marina in 1974, explains that his business is about more than providing boating service and docking. “We try to get to know our customers very well. Living on the property really helps, having everything right here,” Bean says.
During the spring, life at the marina starts to get busy. After April 15 (although it was a bit earlier this year), Bean and his crew are up at sunrise moving and cleaning boats that have been hibernating at Greenwood for the winter, getting them ready to be driven by their owners again in the warm weather. This whole process takes about two weeks, and then the gas dock is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Bean and his assistant manager Justin Ryan do basic cleaning and maintenance on all the boats and assist customers with pumping gas. Greenwood is also the only marina on Lake Minnetonka to provide covered slips for their customers, which protect the boats from the elements, and save time so that customers don’t have to bring their own.
Bean and his family’s lifestyle matches their profession—they love more than anything to be outside. Bean’s wife, Angie (nee Pehle), and his 5-year-old daughter Lillian are very involved in the business. “Lilly loves to help out, and she’s always asking,” Bean says. When Bean is taking a boat out, he’ll ask, “Lilly, want to go for a ride?” When the family isn’t working, they’re on the lake. They have an antique boat that Bean acquired from his father (a 1930 Hacker-Craft, 26’ Dolphin Jr. model) that they take out as often as possible. They know the lake gets crowded on summer weekends, so they often take advantage of quieter weekdays to enjoy the peaceful water. Even then, sometimes after a long day at the marina, “I just want to sit in the air conditioning,” Bean says with a laugh.
In their line of work, Bean and his staff see their fair share of interesting boats. Bean says that wooden boats are his favorites, because of their history and nostalgic value, although they require som extra TLC. Even though most of the boats that dock at the marina are 22- to 26-foot deck boats, which are the most common on Lake Minnetonka, Bean also sees the occasional Aquafina—an Italian boat made of fiberglass.
Bean loves the boats and loves the people, and what he loves most about his work is the opportunity he gets to enjoy the great outdoors every single day.
