On January 1, 1936, George J. Schaefer, Sr. opened the doors to his newly purchased tavern named The Boundary. It received its name because the tavern’s location on Gross Point Road in Skokie (then Niles Center) bordered the neighboring communities of Evanston and Wilmette. In addition to being a popular spot with the locals, stories were told of people traveling on the streetcar from the city to visit Memorial Park, the Cemetery across the street. Before starting the long journey home the weary travelers would stop at The Boundary for sustenance – a beer and a sandwich. The Boundary eventually became the North Shore tradition known today as Schaefer’s Wines, Foods & Spirits.

George, Sr. knew that times and trends would change and that to succeed he had to make changes too. In the mid 40’s he converted the tavern into a package store and renamed the store Schaefer’s. At the time, and for many years later, Skokie was the only community on the North Shore that permitted the sale of alcohol so Schaefer’s added trucks and began delivering to homes and businesses in all of the neighboring towns. Soon there were two generations in the store when Mr. Schaefer’s father-in-law, Ben Axman, joined the business to handle the accounting and buying responsibilities. This was the era before bankcards so Schaefer’s instituted “house accounts” and by the mid 1950s was sending out thousands of statements each month.

The 1950s also saw the increase in the number of people traveling to Europe and returning with a new appreciation of wine. Schaefer’s saw this as a new trend and began to expand their wine selection. By 1958 their wines had far exceeded the space that had been devoted to them, so plans were made to enlarge the wine room and hire a full-time wine consultant.

The newly remodeled store was to have its grand opening on February 20, 1959, however George Schaefer, Sr. suffered a major heart attack three days before and died the night of the opening. His father-in-law, Ben Axman, had died the previous August and the future of the business was very uncertain. However, in stepped Eileen Axman Schaefer, daughter and widow. With an innate sense of business and intense determination (many people were telling her she was foolish to try to run it) she took over. She not only ran the business, but also grew it and continued to expand its products and services.

In 1966, after graduating from the University of Notre Dame, George, Jr. joined his mother at Schaefer’s. It was this George, who with his energy, great knowledge of and love of wine, earned national recognition for the store. Schaefer’s began to attract customers from all over the country who sought George’s wine advice and trusted his recommendations and his business ethics. Customers who lived in states where shipping wasn’t permitted would often make an annual or semi-annual visit to the area just to pick up their wines.

In 1970 another member of the family, George’s sister, Gene Schaefer Flynn, joined the family team. At first Gene worked part-time overseeing the most current renovation of the wine room, and processing the many requests that the store received for donations. However, in 1977 after the death of their mother, Eileen, Gene stepped in full-time and took over many of the behind-the-scenes responsibilities.

In the early 1970s Schaefer’s began mailing periodic wine brochures, designed and written by George. Today the brochures are still produced in-house with contributions by many members of the staff. In the early 80s "Say-Vino" was started, a weekly pre-recorded telephone message that kept customer’s up to date on the latest wine related news. Today Say-Vino is a weekly email that goes out to thousands of customers. 1990 saw the inception of Tri-Wine, an international wine-of-the-month club. Three different wines, along with staff written fact sheets, and serving suggestions are shipped to recipients each month. This has become one of Schaefer’s hottest gift items.

By the 1980s many of the neighboring communities began allowing the sale of wine and/or liquor and Schaefer’s again knew that they had to make some changes to meet this new competition. They needed something that would make their store a destination for more than wine and liquor. In 1986 the Signature Market (a.k.a. Schaefer's Deli) was created. The focus was on items that would complement entertaining such as cheese, patés and appetizers.  Schaefer’s sought out local chefs and caterers to make products for them. One of their first, and still most popular, items was Leslee’s Mousse, created by the late Leslee Reis, then owner of Café Provencal, who was also a close friend. The idea was a success and Schaefer’s Deli soon became a destination in itself.

In 1999 George’s oldest daughter, Anje Schaefer Cluxton, became the fourth generation to join the business. Anje shares her dad’s love of wine and has relieved both George and Gene of many of the day-to-day responsibilities. Her knowledge, youth and energy is sure to bring new and exciting things to Schaefer’s as they begin their eighth decade in business.

Today George and Gene credit much of the store’s success to its staff, who are not only knowledgeable, but most important, want to please the customer. Once people have worked for the Schaefer’s organization it is hard to work anywhere else. This is evidenced in the length of service of their employees. Schaefer’s seven key employees total more than 150 years of service, an average of more than 20 years each.

Through the decades Schaefer’s has made many changes, most reccently the addition of online shopping in 2007. One change they say they will never make is their dedication to customer service. That was the foundation that the business was built on and today it is still their prime focus. They credit their 70 plus year success story with their philosophy of not simply meeting the customer’s expectations, but in exceeding them.

"Products are pretty much the same wherever you shop" they say, "it’s the way the customer is treated and the service you provide that creates the value and is remembered." An example of this is that one of the small niceties that Schaefer’s has been known for is giving lollipops to the children of customers. Today many of those children are now grandparents who bring their grandchildren to Schaefer’s to get one of those same lollipops that they remember so well.

Scrapbooks

Over the years we have been honored to have some of the most important winemakers, importers, chefs, experts, and authors as our guests, and on our buying trips we have been honored to be the guests of many more luminaries.

• Scrapbook of famous friends 1968-1989
• Scrapbook of famous guests 1990-Present