After More Than 50 Years, Truckers Union is Up For Sale
owner says it’s time for someone else to take the wheel of Water Street staple
In 1970, Steve Reuter set out to open a little shop that was different and create a place where hippies could shop without hassle. “It became, in the early days, a community meeting place. That’s one reason we wanted to call it Truckers Union,” said Reuter.
After 53 years, generations of eccentric customers have been able to enjoy the shop’s music, incense, and counterculture bumper stickers.
“For me it’s been a great way of making a living,” Reuter said. “I love meeting people and getting to know them and turning them on to new and different things. In 53 years of liking what I do, I’ve not considered it a job. It’s just been part of my life, and I couldn’t have done it without the help of all my wonderful employees over the years.”
For all who love this Water Street staple, Reuter’s announcement that the shop is up for sale is bittersweet. The decision to sell – or close – was made because getting old ain’t easy and Reuter feels he doesn’t have the zip to keep it going.
Hopeful for the future, Reuter would like to see someone with a lot of spunk and ideas take it to the next step, and make it better while integrating growth into the good part of its past.
Reuter is asking $150,000, which includes at least $125,000 in inventory. “It would be a good investment for someone who wants to run their own show,” Reuter said. “When you’re buying a small business, what you’re doing is buying a job that no one can fire you from.”
Hopeful for the future, Reuter would like to see someone with a lot of spunk and ideas take Truckers Union into its next stage: making it better while integrating growth into the good parts of its past.
His advice to potential buyers is that they’ve got to be willing to put their hearts into it. Financial and bookkeeping knowledge can be learned, he advises, but coming in with a good work ethic and heart will help a new owner make the store into something they really enjoy, as he has.
While Reuter would rather find someone to buy the store than close it down, if it does not sell, he is looking at closing up shop by the summer of 2024.
Swing into Truckers Union (413 Water St., Eau Claire), which is open days a week. Inquiries about the business can be sent to reuters.biz@gmail.com.
