It's Friday night in the Little Apple. You've picked up a pizza, and there's just one more stop to make before heading home. For years, that meant swinging by Blockbuster on Westport Dr., wandering the aisles in search of a good movie or video game, and hoping the latest release was still on the shelf.
Fast-forward a couple of decades, and that familiar Friday night routine hasn't changed all that much. You still grab a pizza and make one last stop on Westport before calling it a night. Only now, instead of leaving with a movie, you're walking out with beer, a bottle of wine or something for tomorrow's K-State tailgate.
That's because the old Blockbuster is now home to The Fridge, one of the largest liquor stores in Kansas.
For owner Kevin Neitzel, the transformation of a former video rental store into a Manhattan institution is just one chapter of a story that began long before he opened the doors at the current location in 2011.
A native of Goodland, Kevin arrived in Manhattan in 1993 to attend Kansas State University, studying landscape management with plans to work on a golf course. He spent mornings mowing fairways at Manhattan Country Club before going to class. When he needed another job, he stopped at a small liquor store owned by John White and Peter Zanella, two military retirees who had purchased the business in 1992.
They had never hired an employee. Kevin became their first, starting on Super Bowl weekend in 1997. Initially, he worked only during the busiest weekends. Eventually, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings became part of his routine.
In 1999, the business moved into a former Dara's convenience store on Westport Drive, expanding from 600 to 3,000 square feet. By then, Zanella had moved away and Conrad Franz had joined White as a partner. The larger location attracted more customers, but it also demanded more work.
As Kevin considered leaving to concentrate on school, White offered him a 25 percent ownership stake. He took the opportunity and soon began bringing his own ideas to the business.
By spring of 2001, White had bought out Franz, and Kevin had become a 50-50 partner with the freedom to steer the store in a new direction. That meant a fresh look, a new name and a different approach to doing business.
Kevin spent two weeks brainstorming names with his wife, Beth, but nothing felt right. With a meeting scheduled the next day to establish the new business, time was running out.
So Kevin went to the kitchen, grabbed a beer and returned to the back porch with an idea.
“I just went to the fridge to get a beer,” he remembers telling Beth. “That's where you get beer.”
The name stuck.
Another one of Kevin's great ideas came after his recreational softball games. While having drinks at Bowinkle's, he learned how bars purchased their liquor and wine through licensed liquor stores. Their store had no wholesale accounts, so he proposed going after them.
When White hesitated over the $500 license fee, Kevin offered to cover it himself in exchange for the profits from the account. He made the deliveries, first to Bowinkle's, and then to establishments operated by Billy Porter. A small pickup soon replaced his personal vehicle, and a handful of customers grew into a substantial wholesale operation.
His goal was simple: add another wholesale account every month. As it turned out, Kevin accomplished far more than that. He remembers telling Dan Milligan, his longtime employee and first wholesale manager, that his ultimate ambition was to “have a hand on every Jack and Coke poured in Manhattan.”
Whether purchased directly from The Fridge or served at a local bar or restaurant, Kevin wanted his business to be part of the transaction. Milligan, who spent eight years working alongside Kevin and now owns Fat’s and Three Brother’s Bar in Aggieville, helped turn that ambition into reality by managing wholesale accounts, coordinating deliveries and building relationships throughout the community. What began with a single account eventually grew into a wholesale operation that today supplies an impressive 93% of licensed establishments in Riley County.
Then came Blockbuster.
What would become the biggest opportunity in The Fridge's history began with an unexpected tip. A seasonal employee, who also worked at Blockbuster, mentioned to Kevin they were closing their Manhattan location. At the time, the news wasn't yet public. Recognizing the potential, Kevin tracked down the building's owner in Wichita, only to discover that the property was already earmarked for office space.
Kevin refused to let the idea go. He called the owner again and explained what moving The Fridge into the building could mean for his family and for the business.
Five minutes later, the owner called back. He had changed his mind.
The opportunity was enormous. So was the risk.
The move would take The Fridge from 3,000 square feet to 12,000. White was reluctant to undertake the expense, so Kevin sought financing himself. His mother, Barb, agreed to put the family's western Kansas farmland up as collateral for a $400,000 loan from Sunflower Bank.
“My mom definitely believed in me,” he says.
With the loan secured, Kevin and his crew spent four months transforming the former Blockbuster, doing much of the construction themselves after working their regular shifts.
On August 1, 2011, The Fridge Wholesale Liquor opened at its present location at1150 Westport Drive.
He had spent nearly everything getting there. But the customers came immediately, and the gamble paid off. Within three years, the farm was released as collateral. The entire 10-year loan was paid off in roughly three and a half years.
For Kevin, that repayment meant more than a financial milestone. It meant his mother's faith, and her family's land, had been protected.
The growth since has been remarkable. On its busiest days, The Fridge has welcomed thousands of customers through its doors. Kevin recalls one particularly memorable Fake Patty’s Day when approximately 6,100 customers flooded the store. With five registers running nonstop, he eventually had to lock the doors an hour before closing just to ensure everyone already inside could check out. The Fridge has also become famous for its annual Black Friday Bourbon event, which draws enthusiasts willing to camp out in the parking lot for days just for the opportunity to purchase rare and allocated bottles of bourbon.
Today, The Fridge ranks among the top five liquor stores in Kansas in gross sales. Its reach extends far beyond walk-in sales through wholesale relationships with businesses throughout Riley County.
But he is quick to credit the people behind that success. The Fridge now employs 28 people, including 15 full-time staff members. Longtime employees such as office manager Mike Schmidt, wine manager Mike Phillips, and liquor manager Larry Kelly, help lead specialized departments, giving customers expertise and Kevin a team he trusts.
He has also found ways to share that success. Pour Decisions, the tasting room established in the former Westloop Floral flower shop next door, hosts educational experiences featuring wines, spirits and the people who make them. All proceeds from the tastings support local charities, while customers get something Kevin values just as much: time to build relationships.
Looking ahead, Kevin and Beth have three daughters, Logan, Reagan and Gracyn. He hopes one of the younger two might someday carry the business forward. For now, he has little interest in retirement.
After 25 years, perhaps the most fitting part of the story is that a name discovered over a beer has become part of Manhattan's everyday vocabulary.
In the Little Apple, people don't simply stop at a liquor store.
They head to The Fridge.
"I didn't want anybody to drink a Jack and Coke in this town and me not sell it to them" - Kevin Neitzel
“I think this community is perfect for what we did and perfect for our approach. I love Manhattan. My wife and I have loved it since the day we came. We never wanted to leave.”
— Kevin Neitzel