mind the store, to

mind the store

To monitor a particular place or situation, usually while someone is away. Will you mind the store while I'm in this meeting?
See also: mind, store
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

mind the store

 and watch the store
Fig. to take care of local matters. Please stay here in the office and mind the store while I go to the conference. I had to stay home and watch the store when Ann went to Boston.
See also: mind, store
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

mind the store

Attend to local or family matters, as in Ask Dad for permission; he's minding the store while Mom's away. This expression transfers looking after an actual business to more general activities. [Colloquial; second half of 1900s]
See also: mind, store
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

mind the store, to

To take charge in someone’s absence. This phrase, dating from about 1920, originally meant literally taking over the business of a store when the owner was temporarily away. Later it was expanded to more general usage, as in “She’s on sabbatical leave this semester, so Professor Jones is minding the store.”
See also: mind
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • mind the store
  • of a mind to (do something)
  • have a mind to
  • have a mind to (do something)
  • have a mind to do
  • have a mind to do something
  • make mind up
  • make up (one's) mind
  • make up mind
  • Make your mind up
References in periodicals archive
Much of the new stringency, indicated Lozoff, is a migration into credit unions of the higher director standards that washed across corporate America in the aftermath of the Enron and similar scandals and resulting legislation such as Sarbanes-Oxley, which made unmistakable that directors have a duty to mind the store, to question management and to independently review strategies and balance sheets.
Director's handbook: new rules, new times