The building located at 904 N. 8th St. in Clear Lake has undergone several renovations and seen several owners since it was built. It started out as a bus barn for the Clear Lake Community School District before being purchased by Bud and Lori Kishline, of Clear Lake, and transformed into a liquor store. It was then purchased 14 years later by Paul Gagnon, who ran the business for 30 years.
Gagnon said he and his business partner, Tim Neubauer, of Lake Mills, operated the liquor store business for almost 20 years. “He passed away exactly one day shy of 20 years,” Gagnon said. “Then I had it for the next 10 years by myself…We worked hard, put lots of hours in that place. It’s been a great store. Raised a family on it.”
But being a solo business owner takes a toll. “After 30 years of working every single weekend and every single holiday the kids missed out on a lot from me because I was gone,” Gagnon said, adding that he didn’t want the same thing to happen with his grandkids. “Now’s the time I need to spend some time [with them]. I’m 61 years old. I’ve got 10 good years of work and I need to do something else…So, I thought it’s time to sell. The opportunity was right. And everything just kind of fell into place. So no regrets at all. That’s the best business move I ever made.”
The business was purchased this past fall by Gulshan “Sonny” Abbas, d.b.a. Zayn Properties LLC, who owns several other liquor/convenience stores in Mason City. Now, the long time staple on Clear Lake’s main thoroughfare, has a new look, new products, new name and new owner.
The Quick Shop drive-thru liquor store has undergone a massive transformation in a very small amount of time. The building sports a new storefront and signage outside, all new lighting, floor-to-ceiling shelving, new product displays, a large check-out counter and a walk-in beer cooler.
Asim Saeed, Abbas’ nephew and manager of the newly renovated Quick Shop & Vape, said they saw the potential the location offered. He said they already had a lot of customers from the Clear Lake area. “They didn’t have a big selection here, so all the customers were going to our North Side Liquor over [in Mason City] and they were suggesting that we open a spot here,” Saeed said. “It was a good opportunity, a good spot. There’s a lot of potential here.”
Saeed said they are bringing in a big selection of liquor and beer and, like the Mason City stores, they will keep their prices competitively low. “It’s gonna take time, over four or five months and every shelf is gonna be full,” he said.
He said they are also planning to place a pop cooler near the front as well as ATM and Bitcoin ATM machines. He didn’t think that there were any other Bitcoin machines in Clear Lake, which would make this a unique feature.
With a larger selection to choose from, many people have been coming inside, but Saeed said they will still maintain its drive-thru, which still sees a lot of the regular customers. As springtime approaches and Clear Lake starts seeing more activity Saeed, who also manages the Midtown Liquor and Vape and the Liquor, Tobacco and Grocery in Mason City, said they already have plans in place for the drive-thru to make it, “…more convenient and people are going to be not in a long line,” he said.
As for the future they will be adding a vape shop and a small grocery section with basic items such as milk, bread and canned goods. “That’s the main thing for our stores, even at Liquor Tobacco & Grocery, we keep adding groceries over there,” Saeed said. “And that’s convenient for customers, especially if they don’t have time and [they can] come and drive through. They can get their basic groceries.”
Plans are also in the works to clean up some space, and perhaps move the pole sign, to create 10 to 15 parking spots. “Everyone is telling me that in summer it’s going to be crazy busy. So we need more parking spots,” Saeed said. “Im excited for the summer coming up. I’m going to try to be ready for that.”
Gagnon, who has completely changed careers and is now a 1st-grade paraprofessional at Clear Creek Elementary, said he has a really good relationship with the new owners and really likes what they have done to the building. “Everything that they did is something that I wanted to do,” he said. “It looks great. I’m really happy for them.”
Employee Matt Kramer, who worked for Gagnon for almost six years, decided to stay on. When asked what he thought about the store transformation he said, “It’s new. It’s change. It’s kind of exciting. I’m an older dog, so it’s harder to teach me new tricks. But it’s exciting.”
by Mary Loden
The building located at 904 N. 8th St. in Clear Lake has undergone several renovations and seen several owners since it was built. It started out as a bus barn for the Clear Lake Community School District before being purchased by Bud and Lori Kishline, of Clear Lake, and transformed into a liquor store. It was then purchased 14 years later by Paul Gagnon, who ran the business for 30 years.
Gagnon said he and his business partner, Tim Neubauer, of Lake Mills, operated the liquor store business for almost 20 years. “He passed away exactly one day shy of 20 years,” Gagnon said. “Then I had it for the next 10 years by myself…We worked hard, put lots of hours in that place. It’s been a great store. Raised a family on it.”
But being a solo business owner takes a toll. “After 30 years of working every single weekend and every single holiday the kids missed out on a lot from me because I was gone,” Gagnon said, adding that he didn’t want the same thing to happen with his grandkids. “Now’s the time I need to spend some time [with them]. I’m 61 years old. I’ve got 10 good years of work and I need to do something else…So, I thought it’s time to sell. The opportunity was right. And everything just kind of fell into place. So no regrets at all. That’s the best business move I ever made.”
The business was purchased this past fall by Gulshan “Sonny” Abbas, d.b.a. Zayn Properties LLC, who owns several other liquor/convenience stores in Mason City. Now, the long time staple on Clear Lake’s main thoroughfare, has a new look, new products, new name and new owner.
The Quick Shop drive-thru liquor store has undergone a massive transformation in a very small amount of time. The building sports a new storefront and signage outside, all new lighting, floor-to-ceiling shelving, new product displays, a large check-out counter and a walk-in beer cooler.
Asim Saeed, Abbas’ nephew and manager of the newly renovated Quick Shop & Vape, said they saw the potential the location offered. He said they already had a lot of customers from the Clear Lake area. “They
