ST. PETER — Steve Ritz’ Thanksgiving visit to his hometown included a stop at Nutter Clothing Co. Saturday to pick up a few items for himself.
The Chaska businessman’s been a regular shopper at the downtown St. Peter since he was a boy.
“This is where I got my first Boy Scouts uniform,” said Ritz, who now depends on Nutter Clothing to provide apparel worn by his Fitness First staff.
The quality of the clothing lines Nutter’s carries and customer service matters more than price tag numbers to Ritz. Besides that, he and Nutter’s previous owner, Scott Dobie, have a decades-long friendship.
“I like to patronize small businesses and I like to form relationships. I’m looking forward to having a good relationship with the new owners, too,” Ritz said.
Earlier this month, Dobie retired after operating the men’s fine apparel store for 47 years. Nutter’s founder, James Nutter, operated the business at 320 S. Minnesota Ave. for several decades in the building that formerly housed the Haesecke Clothes Shop.
Kyle and Signe Deschner took over the reigns earlier this fall.
Besides Nutter’s, the couple operates two J. Roberts menswear stores in Wisconsin at Janesville and Elkhorn.
Kyle Deschner said although some of its aesthetics may change, customers won’t see a name change or differences in Nutter’s inventory and services.
The store will continue as a drop-off site for a dry-cleaner partner and will still offer St. Peter Saints sportwear.
Longtime store manager Barb Moeller’s duties are now handled by Rebecca Arends, who moved from Springfield to St. Peter earlier this year. Her experience as the mother of two adult sons gave Arends a good sense of male fashions, but she’s still learning the ins and outs of retail sales.
“There’s been a big learning curve for me,” Arends said.
“I learning to look at clothing from the viewpoint of a man,” she said.
Arends and the Deschners are impressed by not only the ‘Christmas card look’ of St. Peter’s main streets, they’ve noticed the town’s sense of community.
Small businesses play important roles in communities, said Carol Hayes, owner of Nutter’s neighbor store, Cooks & Company.
Hayes has met the Deschners and thinks they will be a good fit with other Minnesota Avenue businesses.
“Scott (Dobie) was involved in lots of things; he’s a real Mr. St. Peter. The new owners have been very interested in being a part of the community, too,” Hayes said.