CERESCO — Frank Chloupek is sitting on a wooden bench at the front of Ernie’s, the behemoth furniture store in Ceresco — 13 money-saving miles north of Lincoln.
It’s a mild winter Monday and the Wahoo man is munching popcorn and keeping an eye on his restless grandson while the preschooler’s parents shop for appliances.
There’s a sign on the old-time popcorn machine where Chloupek filled his bag: Pickled Herring 3 Pounds for $14.99.
Ernie loved pickled herring, Chloupek says.
He loved popcorn, too, used to sell it at Husker football games way way back in the day.
Ernie Swanson started this Saunders County institution in 1946 with his wife, Margie. A grocery store first.
They started selling TVs, too. One at a time, until the couple got out of the food business altogether and turned to furniture.
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Margie greeted customers as if they were old friends and relished handing out bags of warm popcorn. She earned the nickname “Marge in Charge†in and out of the furniture store and was 95 when she died in 2016.
Ernie died of cancer in 1987. Chloupek was working here back then, repairing that furniture mostly.
“He was fun to be around,†he says of Ernie. “You never knew what would happen when he was here.â€
And that was almost always. Cooking lunch for his employees. “Goulash, steaks, whatever he was hungry for.â€
A good boss, the former employee says.
“On a Sunday, if you had a good week, he’d take you out to eat. Everyone would hop in his camper and go to Lee's Chicken or Caniglia’s in Omaha.â€
Or maybe they’d load up and be off to the horse races in Grand Island. “He loved the races and Husker football.â€
And Swanson knew how to run a business. The little furniture store grew and grew. When a business closed or moved, Ernie’s was ready to buy. It took over the spot where the hotel stood and the bank and the post office. Over time, it took over an entire block in the middle of Main Street.
You could race a horse in the furniture store now. Barn-sized rooms filled with La-Z-Boys and Sertas, Amish country dining room sets and coffee tables, couches and loveseats in every shade of gray, made by Bassett and Smith Brothers and more. Walls of fabric swatches for customers who like color. Carpet and flooring, gleaming appliances and flat-screen TVs, window coverings and gas grills and sound systems.
Count up the warehouses scattered across town to store all that stuff and you’ll reach a big number — nearly 100,000 square feet, making Ernie’s the largest family-owned furniture store in Nebraska.
Swanson’s son, Dean, and grandson, Tyler, run Ernie’s empire now. Dean is president of the business and Tyler will take the mantle in May, shortly before they celebrate 74 years in business.
Dean will take a spot on the board. “I’ll always stay involved.â€
His dad put him to work in the family business early, a little boy standing on a stool by the popcorn machine serving customers bags of the freshly popped treat at the front of the store.
He moved up to the delivery department, the warehouse, eventually sales. When he returned to town after graduating from Nebraska Wesleyan University, he took on more responsibility.
Tyler went away to college, too, choosing to come back to help run the family business.
They’ve established close relationships with their vendors, Dean says, and with their customers.
“We try to teach our employees to find out what the customer wants. You’re the boss. Years ago, Ernie said, ‘The customer wants to be heard.’â€
So they try to listen.
Customers come from Omaha and Lincoln and from the smaller towns in a 60-mile radius around the store, Dean says. Ernie’s has a mattress store in Lincoln, but they’ve resisted the lure of expanding or relocating to a metropolitan area.
“One of the little secrets that have let us be here is we are in a small town where we own all the buildings. They’re not fancy, but they’re presentable.â€
And those buildings are full of merchandise — sometimes stacked up to 30 feet high.
“Say you come to Ernie’s on Dec. 24 and you’re in town to get your father or grandfather a recliner. You can pull around the corner — just like McDonald’s — and hopefully we’ll have you out of here in a half an hour with your recliner.â€
Ernie’s has outlasted Nebraska-owned furniture stores such as Wanek’s of Crete and Lincoln’s Hardy Furniture, which made it to the century mark before closing in 1973.
Ceresco is thankful for Ernie’s, says Scott Peterson, chair of the village board.
“The store means a lot to the town, it’s like a staple. A lot of people I’ve talked to outside our area, they only know Ceresco because of Ernie’s.â€
And Ernie’s has always been a good neighbor.
“You can tell when it’s a good day because the main street is full of cars,†Peterson says. “That makes me happy.â€
The last census counted 889 people in the Saunders County village, bordered by farm fields just west of U.S. 77. Today, Sweet Pea Grocery shares a wide street with Ernie's, along with the post office and the bank and Heritage Scratch Kitchen, a new restaurant where the old Ford dealership once sat.
Dean and Tyler Swanson are their landlords.
Owners Scott and Brenda Hoss planned carefully before opening their restaurant across the street from the furniture store.
“I did a geographical study and with Ernie’s being across the street and having all that business, I thought it would be a good thing,†Scott Hoss said.
And was it?
“We’ve had really good support. More than what we can handle.â€
The owners have incorporated a nod to Ernie in the restaurant — a framed newspaper ad from April 11, 1946, announcing the opening of his short-lived IGA store.
Food has always been a part of Ernie’s, his son says. Hot dogs and jams and cheeses. Banana splits to go with the slashed prices during the annual Going Bananas Sale.
No more banana splits, Dean says, but the store still offers the free popcorn that has been Ernie’s signature since Day 1.
And although they’ve tinkered with their original jingle as speed limits have increased — 10 money-saving minutes north of Lincoln — some things will never change.
“If we do not have fresh popcorn, we catch heck.â€