EARLY 1900s
Cletus “Clete” Burgardt’s affinity for retail begins as a young boy working at his father’s grocery store in their hometown of Park, Kansas, a Volga-German farming community in the northwest corner of the state.
1949
Upon the end of prohibition in Kansas, Clarence Mills opens one of the first licensed retail liquor stores in the state, Mills Retail Liquor, at 2405 East Harry Street in Wichita.
1953
After returning to Park from military service overseas, Clete marries Viola “Vi” Kraft, also of Park, and soon thereafter, they move their young family to Wichita.
1956
Clarence Mills moves his store one mile south and one mile east to 3027 East Pawnee Street to better serve the rapidly growing baby boomer neighborhoods developing in southeast Wichita.
1957
Clete begins working part-time for Mr. Mills at Mills Retail Liquor while also working overnights as a stocker at the Safeway grocery store located a few blocks north of the store.
1963
Clarence Mills retires, selling his liquor store to his only employee, Clete Burgardt. Clete changes the name of the store to Burgardt Retail Liquor. Clete and Vi Burgardt are the only employees of the store for many years.
1972
Clete doubles the size of his store, taking over the entirety of the building located at the corner of Pawnee and El Rancho for his liquor store and mix shop.
1975
Clete’s eldest child, Jim begins working part-time at the family liquor store while attending classes at Wichita State University. Upon graduation from WSU, Jim begins working full-time at the store.
1989
Clete and Jim more than double the size of the existing store when they expand the building to the west, making Burgardt Retail Liquor the largest liquor store in the state of Kansas.
1995
Clete and Vi Burgardt retire, selling their store to Jim and his wife, Pam.
2003
Jim more than triples the size of the store when he develops the existing building to the south, adding an expanded beer department and a warehouse. Around this time, Jim and Pam’s children begin working part-time and during holidays throughout college to assist with the business.
2012
Jim passes away at the age of 58 from leukemia; his wife, Pam, assumes sole ownership. His oldest son, Matt, takes a sabbatical from his law practice to assist at the store.
2015
Keith Eliot, a longtime beer sales representative for the store, joins Burgardt’s as Director of Beer; the following month, Viola Burgardt passes away. A year later, Cletus Burgardt passes away
2017
Marc Burgardt, Jim’s second eldest son, takes a sabbatical from his career in speech pathology to resume working at the family store.
2018
Pam Burgardt sells the store to Matt, Marc and Keith, making Burgardt Retail Liquor a third-generation owned and operated family business.
2019
Burgardt Retail Liquor celebrates 56 years and three generations of ownership and operation by the Burgardt Family, and 70 years as a continually operating retail liquor store, making it both the oldest family-run liquor store, and the oldest continually-operating liquor store in the State of Kansas.