Lori Ehde, Rock County StarHerold
Blue Mound Liquor Store (Luverne) manager Rich DeSchepper is retiring this summer, but he said he has mixed feelings about leaving the job.
"I'm thoroughly enjoying it," he said about his work.
He said one of his favorite quotes is by Confucius, "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."
DeSchepper said this was the case for nearly every day he worked at the liquor store. "It's really true."
He came to the liquor store by way of the city's solid waste department, where he hauled garbage from 3:30 to 11:30 a.m.
"I loved that job," he said. "I'm a morning person, and then my afternoons were free."
But, he said, he missed the daily contact with people that he had enjoyed at the Sears Catalog Company that he and his wife, Colleen, had operated from 1977 to 1992.
He said Sears' decision to close the store in Luverne was hard on them at the time, but it opened doors to new opportunities.
After DeSchepper had worked a few years hauling garbage, the city's municipal liquor store manager position opened up and he was hired for the job.
"I knew nothing about liquor, and I didn't drink," he recalled.
But he knew a few things about running a business and what he looks for in other businesses.
"Are they personable? Is it bright? Is it clean? These are things I look for," he said, "and I don't think I'm that different from everyone else."
It wasn't long before DeSchepper installed more light bulbs, applied fresh paint and gave the place a good scrubbing.
And people noticed.
"People stop in here from hockey tournaments or from the state park, and they comment on how bright and clean it is," DeSchepper said. "And it's nice to hear."
He also gets comments on the wine selection, which now includes 350 different labels.
"That's really unheard of for a municipal liquor store," he said, crediting 10 years of wine tasting events for generating a regional interest in Luverne's wine.
He declined to share the numbers, but he said wine sales in the past decade have increased 10-fold since the wine tasting events started.
"It's been fun to see it grow from what it was to what it is now," DeSchepper said. "It's been amazing to see that happen."
But he emphasized he didn't do it alone.
"I've been very fortunate; I've had very good part-time help and one very good assistant manager," he said, referring particularly to Christy Hess, who has been at Blue Mound Liquor for nearly 16 years.
"The good Lord shined upon us the day she came through the door and applied for a job," DeSchepper said about Hess. "She is top-notch; she has done a very good job for us."
He said one of the most important physical changes to the store was in 2005 when the beer cave was put in. The walk-in cooler stores 1,500 cases of beer that customers can access on their own.
DeSchepper said it eliminated the need for one employee and has already half paid for itself in the last five years.
He said the previous coolers could only display six cases of beer, so an employee had to constantly restock the shelves.
The beer cave has allowed the liquor store to carry more varieties of beer - up to 200 now, ranging from domestics to imports to microbrews.
The city of Luverne is still seeking a replacement for DeSchepper.
His only advice to a new manager is to remember the purpose of a municipal liquor store: to keep liquor out of the hands of minors and to make a profit for the city of Luverne, "to keep taxes low for all residents."
He said he enjoyed the past 17 years at Blue Mound Liquor, but at 68 years old, DeSchepper said it's time to start enjoying retirement.
"I will definitely miss the work and I will miss the people," he said.
His immediate plans include spending time with his family (children Tahmi and Todd and two grandchildren) and traveling.