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Metcalfes handle succession with carePam Cotant
Although it was difficult for Metcalfe to be no longer "in the fire and in the fight," he decided it was best to let the next generation - Tim and Kevin Metcalfe - run the business their way, Tim Metcalfe said. His mother, Margaret Metcalfe, told him that sometimes father Tom Metcalfe would even shop at other stores if he was particularly bothered by something he saw in the Sentry store he once coddled. "He would offer us advice but it came with no strings," Tim Metcalfe said. "Then he would separate himself from it. That I think was a special gift from him." Tim Metcalfe said his father made the decision to take a hands-off approach after the family attended a weekend-long succession seminar at Cornell University in Ithaca two years before he retired. In April, the Metcalfes received the Wisconsin Family Business of the Year Award in the large-business category. They were recognized in the areas of family involvement, industry leadership, innovative practices, employee respect and community service. It's something that would have made Tom Metcalfe proud. He died March 26 at age 70 after building up a business that was started in Milwaukee by his maternal grandfather, Henry Hess. Tom Metcalfe, who was Monona's mayor from 1993 to 2003 and was chairman of the board of the Wisconsin Grocers Association, was known for his civic leadership. He started the World's Largest Brat Fest in Madison in 1983. Now held every Memorial Day weekend, the brat feed raises money for charities, but it was started as a way to thank Sentry customers. While Tom Metcalfe's accomplishments and community contributions have been illuminated recently with his death just months before this year's Brat Fest, the family has been in the spotlight for other reasons. Tom Metcalfe got into development after he created a retail center on Monona Drive in the former spot of his Sentry store. That business offshoot is now handled by younger son Kevin, who has launched a controversial $25 million mixed use development at the site of the Hickory Lane Mobile Home Park and the Rutabaga paddling store in Monona. Tom Metcalfe was born in an apartment above Metcalfe's IGA grocery store, which his parents, Vern Metcalfe and Mary Hess Metcalfe, built in Milwaukee in 1947. "So technically you could say he was born right into the business," Tim Metcalfe said. Tom Metcalfe and younger brother Jerry took over the family grocery business in 1959. Tom Metcalfe moved to Monona in 1969, opening a store where the Blockbuster on Monona Drive is now, then bought out his brother's share of the business in 1989. The Milwaukee area part of the business was moved over the years, but two Sentry stores are still owned by the Metcalfes in Wauwatosa and Brookfield. Tim and Kevin Metcalfe grew up in the family business - starting with bagging, cleaning bathrooms and stocking shelves when they were about 14 - and eventually moved into management. In 2000, the year the Hilldale store was remodeled, they purchased the business from their father. But groceries are not the only business for the Metcalfes; in the late 1990s, Kevin Metcalfe started running Metcalfe Co., a development company. The Metcalfes own several retail shopping centers here and in Oshkosh, and some apartments in Milwaukee. Groundbreaking is scheduled for September for a 45-unit condominium project to be built at the site of two houses at Monona Drive and Ferchland Place in Monona. Not everything the Metcalfes have touched has turned to gold. They ran a Sentry store in Waunakee from 2001 to 2004, when it closed. "It looked like a good acquisition at the time," Tim Metcalfe said. "We just had a hard time making it work out there." Tim Metcalfe, 46, has two daughters who have both worked in the business and will attend UW-Platteville this fall. His youngest daughter, Allie, 18, has competed in the state grocery bagging championships and placed first in the state in 2005, sending her to nationals. His older daughter, Amanda, 20, has worked in the deli. Kevin Metcalfe, 35, has three children ages 6 down to about 8 months. Tim Metcalfe's twin sister, Tammy Johnson, puts out the company newsletter. Another sister, Mary Litchfeld, who is the oldest sibling, helps with the brat fest and other special events. The Metcalfes said they do not put limits on when family can talk about the business. "When you own a business, you think about it, you dream about it," said Tim Metcalfe as he sat in his office plastered with signs with messages such as "Eat or Be Eaten" and "Always Eye Contact with a Smile." "When you own a business, you're always on point," said Tim Metcalfe, who is on the board of the Wisconsin Grocers Association, the national Food Marketing Institute and the Greater Madison Convention and Visitors Bureau. The brothers' skills complement each other, and Kevin Metcalfe said the two respect each other's opinions and rely on each other to know their business area. "Tim, obviously being older has more experience and I realize that as a partner of his and as a brother," said Kevin Metcalfe, who is on the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra advisory board and is a past member of the Monona Chamber of Commerce board. "I certainly look up to him regarding that. But I don't feel like I'm not being heard." The company has been challenged recently by the major redevelopment of Hilldale. The construction has made it difficult to reach the parking area but when the project is finished, the store will benefit by having direct access off of Midvale Boulevard, the Metcalfes said. New businesses at the mall and the surrounding area will provide spillover traffic, and new condominiums may increase the customer base. The store has made its own changes to keep up with the trends and competition. In addition to its home delivery service found on the Web, it has looked for niches such as gourmet pizza, sushi and a service that allows customers to have purchased seafood steamed in the seafood department. Another renovation, set to start within a couple of months, will allow the store to expand certain product areas. Tim Metcalfe, who previously worked as a zone manager for SuperAmerica, which is now called Speedway, said he and his brother have talked about the succession of the business. One thing they decided on is a rule that before other family members come to work for the company, they must have worked for someone else for a certain period of time. When the time comes for others to take over the business, Tim Metcalfe hopes he can stand back and let the new generation take control like his father did. "It's something like a cherished heirloom and it's our job to protect it and nurture it and move it along and hopefully take it to the next generation and pass it on," Tim Metcalfe said. Pam Cotant is a Madison freelance writer. pcotant@mailbag.com madison.com ©2009 Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
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