Schaefer's has been a Chicagoland tradition since 1936 because of its incredible selection, competitive prices, unmatched expertise, and superlative customer service (for a short history of Schaefer's, click here).

Schaefer's is not just a place, not just goods and services. It's the people who make it unique. No other store is as old as us, and no other store has such an experienced staff. Most of the people who work at Schaefer's have been here for more than a decade, many for 20 or more years. In a small retail business, that kind of longevity and loyalty is almost unheard of. Is it the wine? Perhaps, but it's also the kind of people they are, people who derive a great deal of satisfaction in providing the unequaled service Schaefer's offers its customers, and that's something that's hard to find in any business.

It wouldn't be Schaefer's without the Schaefer family: GeorgeSchaefer, his sister Gene Schaefer Flynn, and his daughter (right), Anje Schaefer Cluxton. George is the president of Schaefer's. Gene is vice president and she is also in charge of our food operations. Anje started at Schaefer's in 1989, and she is chief operating officer.

Here's the rest of our "Grand Crew" in order of seniority

Don Wils, Wine Manager - Since 1971. Don is a manger in the wine department. He's also in charge of our warehouse, and most of his time is spent ordering -- and overseeing the receiving of -- our weekly deliveries from wine suppliers in the Chicago area. And, as our "special requests" expert, he handles hundreds of queries each year from customers seeking specific, hard-to-find wines. Except for George and Gene, nobody has been at Schaefer's longer than Don. More about Don.

Sterling Pratt, Wine Director - Since 1978. As Schaefer's wine director, Sterling oversees the wine department, making sure it runs smoothly every day. He spends much of his time meeting with suppliers. He does the majority of wine buying for Schaefer's, which means he has the sometimes-enviable-sometimes-not job of tasting a wide range of wines from around the world to determine which ones to add to the store's shelves. Sterling also is one of the store's oldest (self-trained) Mac geeks. He designs and desktop-publishes the store's wine sale brochures, designs the ads and mailers, and is principally responsible for maintaining this Web site. More about Sterling.

Dan Madden, Party Planner Manager - Since 1979. Dan's name is familiar to any customer who's ever come to Schaefer's for party-planning advice. Dan's the person who can bring it all together. He works closely with local caterers, and knows the ins and outs of most of the clubs, hotels and other party venues on the North Shore. A Schaefer's manager, he asks all the right questions of party planners to make sure they will have everything they need, and then works closely with our delivery department to get everything there on time. Dan also is the go-to person for any beer-related question -- from party kegs to pilsners from Prague. More about Dan.

Sandra Petersen, Food Manager - Since 1984. Sandra is one of the two managers of the food department. Her first job at Schaefer's was in the wine department, but when the decision was made to open a food department, Sandra, having worked with caterers, restaurants and people in the food industry, was the obvious choice to head up the new venture. Her responsibilties include everything from planning private and corporate gifts to answering customers' questions about the meats, cheeses, spreads and other food items in our Gourmet Deli. More about Sandra.

Byron Wilson, Baron of the Beer Aisle - Since 1990. Byron's principal responsibility is mounting an effective "exit strategy" -- moving customers quickly and efficiently past his cash register as they check out. Once a week, he also plays another important role as the "Baron of the Beer Aisle," talking to customers about the beers that are open for tasting each Saturday. Byron started at Schaefer's in 1990. More about Byron.

Mary Liliedahl, Food Manager - Since 1993. No one who visits our food department comes away without meeting Mary, who co-manages the department (with Sandra) and is one of the store managers. She likes the fast pace and the cameraderie at Schaefer's. Customers look to Mary for her ideas and her quick, no-nonsense solutions to their entertaining problems. Need appetizers for 60 people in an hour? A picnic basket to impress a first date? A hostess gift for an impossible-to-please potential in-law? Let Mary help. She also has a talent for enabling her customers to entertain with hassle-free confidence, providing do-it-yourself advice on everything from a wine-and-cheese tasting to helping decipher oddball recipes with hard-to-find ingredients. More about Mary.

Eli Robinson, Delivery Supervisor - Since 1993. Eli's name may not be on the guest list, but he still sees more parties and weddings in a week than most of us see in a lifetime. As the head of our delivery department, he ensures that the customer's order - whether it's dozens of items for a special occasion or just a couple of bottles of wine -- arrives complete and on time. He's got an experienced and dedicated team of drivers to help make sure that happens on every order. More about Eli.

Debi DiBasilio, Office - Since 1995. Debi is one of our "numbers" people. She works in the office, balancing sales, paying bills and helping customers with billing inquiries. "I've always been good with numbers," she says, "but I enjoy the customer contact, too. We have great customers and I like being able to help." If a customer has a question, she can access the store's computer system and find a receipt from last week or a party delivery from last year and help solve the problem. More about Debi.

Anne Clinton, Glassware - Since 1998. Anne's job gets her into a lot of hot water - literally. She's responsible for maintaining all the glassware that is loaned out to customers. That means making sure that hundreds of wine, champagne and bar glasses are washed, dried and returned sparkling clean to their boxes each week so that Schaefer's can continue to provide its free glassware service. More about Anne.

Robert Paul Williams, Stock - Since 1998. Robert's primary responsibility is to keep the store clean and the shelves well-stocked and appealing to customers. But that's just "the tip of the iceberg" when it comes to the many jobs he takes on, from helping customers get their purchases to their cars to maintaining a large salt-water fish tank in the main office. More about Robert.

Alan Pilgrim, Wine - Since 2002. Alan is a part-time wine consultant. Besides advising customers on their wine selections, he also helps us with our media contact activitites, letting the public know about future Schaefer's events and updating the Schaefer's Events page for our website. He's also an occasional Third Thursday Wine Class facilitator. More about Alan.

Barbara Rooks, Wine - Since 2005. Barbara is a consultant in our wine department. She can usually be found at the wine room computer and is the go-to wine person for the passion she brings to research and food matching. Barbara is also responsible for developing much of our wine class curriculum. More about Barbara.

Rose Hoffman, Since 2005. Rose is the person behind our Say-Vino and Tastings e-letters, from the comfort of her home office. She also comes in to help with our huge Warehouse Sales. More about Rose.

Other Important People

Peggy Anderson, Office - Since 1977

Laurie Veness, Gifts - Since 1979

Souzan Youkhana, Food - Since 2004

Michael Faught, Stock - Since 2005

Maurice Mitchell, Delivery - Since 2005

Jose Baez, Clerk - Since 2006

Patricia Gillett, Food - Since 2006

Beverly Owens, Clerk - Since 2006

Micaiah Robinson, Office - Since 2006

Alex Wachniak, Food - Since 2006

Billy Piggott, Food - Since 2007

Kate Jackiw, Wine - Since 2007

Kristin Savino

Kristian Bowman

Fran Brown

Paul Downs