Family-Owned Sidetracks Liquor in Gordon Supports Organizations that Enrich Community
A family-owned liquor store in Gordon, Neb., has become a popular destination for area residents and a welcome source of support for community events, schools and other local organizations.
- published: 2024/01/08
- contact: NBDC Communications - Nebraska Business Development Center
- phone: 402.554.6256
- email: kjefferson@unomaha.edu
Gordon, Nebraska – A family-owned liquor store in Gordon, Neb., has become a popular destination for area residents and a welcome source of support for community events, schools and other local organizations.
Sidetracks Liquor opened in January 2020 and is owned by Jordan and Amanda Strain along with Ward Wacker, Amanda’s stepfather, who together formed SS&W Enterprises, LLC.
Jordan Strain says the name Sidetracks refers to the railroad tracks that previously ran beside the building. Those tracks are gone, and their path converted to a stretch of the Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail.
Jordan grew up in Martin, S.D., and after graduating high school moved to Rapid City, where he worked for a beer distributor for 12 years. Amanda Strain grew up near Martin and moved to Rapid City after high school. They moved to Gordon four years ago with their three children.
Wacker grew up in Wayne, Neb. and has been a teacher in Nebraska for more than 30 years. He had retired prior to opening the liquor store but has since returned to teaching and coaching at the high school because of personnel shortages, Jordan says.
Martin is about 45 miles from Gordon, and both are communities “where everybody knows everybody,” Jordan says. “Amanda and I have a lot of family here, and knowing so many of our customers helps us emphasize personalized service. We can offer a wide variety and fill special orders.”
Prior to opening the business, Deb Cottier of the Northwest Nebraska Development Corporation (NNDC) referred Wacker to the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) office in Chadron. There, he worked with the former consultant for America’s SBDC – Nebraska, a program of the NBDC, and Chadron Office Assistant Jennifer Wittrock. Chris McCarthy, associate professor of economics and agribusiness at Chadron State College, is the current SBDC consultant in Chadron.
Wittrock says a partnership approach with the Chadron office yielded the knowledge and confidence for the three co-owners to proceed with obtaining financing. “The Chadron SBDC provided guidance on the initial plans for the business, offered a sample business plan, did research into Nebraska Lottery Scratch and Lotto Games, and research on beer, wine and liquor stores, as well as convenience stores,” she says. “Ward worked on the business plan and financials with our assistance, and then we reviewed the plan.”
Jordan Strain says the NBDC’s services were instrumental in getting Sidetracks on track. “We didn’t go to business school,” he says, “so when we dove in headfirst, the NBDC proved to be a great resource for everything we needed to know and do.”
He says the couple’s two daughters and son – an eighth-grader, sixth-grader and kindergartener – are active in sports and in 4H, where their son competes in robotics. “Because we’re a small community, we try to help any way we can,” he says. “We know our customers very well, and we see them and their families at the grocery store or at school events. It makes you want to support each other.”
Sidetracks has expanded its popularity by offering area food trucks free space in the parking lot and advertising their presence on the Sidetracks Facebook page.
“Ward, Jordan and Amanda are very thankful to the community and their loyal customers,” Wittrock says, “and they invest in the community in return.”