News
Berube decides to retire
Scott Wagar
12/27/2011
Jim Berube has made the decision to retire at the end of this week after 38 years in the bar business.
“Actually, retiring wasn’t on my mind at all, but Kevin and Rebecca Herbel asked me what I wanted for the business, I gave them a number and they found the money,” Berube said. “On January 1, I will be sixty-three and a half years old. When the Herbels made the offer, I wondered if I should sell the bar or wait till when I wanted to do it in a couple of years. But, I thought there might not be a buyer in a couple of years. So, I went back and forth on the idea and decided to do it now.”
Berube started in the bar business in 1973 working at the Garden Tap in Dunseith. In 1976, he moved to St. Cloud, Minn., where he was employed in a bottle shop for a year. He then returned to North Dakota to accept a job with Ruth Loveland working in the Loveland Lodge Bar and Grill for six years.
In August of 1983, Berube purchased the Scoreboard from Jim Sund and operated that bar until December of 2001 when the bar burned to the ground in an accidental fire. In August of 2003, to the exact day he purchased the Scoreboard, Berube opened The Stadium II, which he has owned and operated to the present time.
In 38 years of working in the bar business, Berube stated he has seen a lot of changes take place in how one operates a bar. From tapping beer and cash registers to refrigeration and selling Lotto tickets, Berube has experienced it all.
“Of all the things that I think about, I think security sticks out most in my mind,” he said, who has been a victim of robberies in his 28 years of owning a bar. “Today, I have cameras all over the bar, and I can go online at home and click into my cameras in the bar to see what is going on there. Back in the day, you never heard of such a thing.”
When it comes to Berube’s most favorite part of the bar, and what he is going to miss the most about the bar, two words describes that – the people.
“I really enjoyed the people who have come in the bar, especially the five-o’clock crowd, the social crowd,” Berube said. “The five-o’clock crowd likes to come in and have a drink and enjoy the social hour. They are all good people and they like to be sociable. I like sports, so we play trivia games, joke around and have fun like that, which is a good outlet. I’m going to miss that.”
Over the 28 years that Berube has owned a bar in Bottineau, he has employed close to 50 individuals in the community. Those employees are also very special to his heart.
“My employees have all been good people,” Berube said. “I have been real fortunate because my employees have all been hard working, honest people, which is one of the hardest thing to find in the bar business. So, I am very lucky to have the employees that I have had.”
In retirement, Berube said that he has no future plans at the moment, but that he does plan to be productive in one way or other.
“What that is right now, I don’t know. But, I’ll find it,” he said.
There will be a retirement party for Berube on Jan. 30 starting at 5 p.m. and continuing until the bar closes that evening. The party is open to the public and Berube encourages people to stop by and have a bite to eat during the evening.
The Herbels will be taking ownership of the bar on Jan 1, 2012.