Constable: Family brews up 7 generations of Naperville entrepreneurs
By Burt Constable
It seems Naperville is always receiving some designation as the best place to live, or the kid-friendliest town, or the coolest place to find happening restaurants in the suburbs. And we know how that sits with high school students.
"Everybody wants to get out of here as quickly as possible," says Nick Stenger, who grew up in Naperville, graduated from Naperville North High School in 2013 and settled in Chicago after his 2017 graduation from Loyola University.
But the draw of "The 'Ville" is strong with this one.
"My lease is up in November and I'm moving back to Naperville," says Stenger, a 24-year-old financial adviser and Napervillian, same as his dad, grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great grandfather, great-great-great grandfather and great-great-great-great grandfather.
After leaving the kingdom of Bavaria for a brighter future, Peter Stenger settled in Naperville in the 1840s. Using the German skills he brought with him, Stenger and his son Nicholas started Stenger Brewing and produced barrels of German lager beer. Eventually, the father stepped aside and Nicholas and his brother, John, who returned from California after making money in the gold rush, oversaw the rise of the beer business.
"Naperville had all the ingredients to be a successful brewery," says Ron Stenger, the sixth-generation Stenger in Naperville. There was enough land to grow barley, malt and hops; a natural spring provided plenty of fresh water; and their farm produced enough vegetables and meat to be self-sufficient.
After Nicholas Stenger died at age 35, John Stenger kept the brewery going. In 1869, he brought in a 22-year-old German immigrant who had been a castaway on a ship to the United States - Adolph Coors. Rising to the position of brewmaster and serving as the highest-paid employee at Stenger Brewery, Coors faced a dilemma.
"To take over the business he had to marry into the family," Ron Stenger says. It's not clear whether Coors or one of the daughters had a problem with that arrangement, but Coors left for Golden, Colorado, where his Coors Brewery Co. has grown into an industry giant.
Stenger Brewery was sold in 1892 to a larger brewer, and the buildings were demolished in 1959 by the Illinois Bell Telephone Co., which put a new building on the lot. As a boy, Ron Stenger used to play in the underground tunnels beneath Stenger Brewery, where the beer was kept cold in the days before refrigeration. "It was a big, dark, scary place," he says of the tunnels, which were later filled in.
A massive stone sign reading J&N Stenger Brewery 1856 adorned the brewery, which featured a large brick malt house and another brewing building. That stone is on display at Naper Settlement, the living-history museum in downtown Naperville. The village has remained a great location for the Stenger family for generations, Ron Stenger says.
"I started in the financial sector from zero," he says, explaining how returning to Naperville helped him get named to Forbes Magazine's list of America's Top Wealth Advisors for his work as a managing director and wealth adviser with The Stenger Devermann Group in Oak Brook. "It's fun to be part of a place where entrepreneurship is valued, and people from all kinds of backgrounds can make it."
His father, Jack, who is 94 years old, built a successful realty company. His grandfather, Grant, and Grant's brother, Ollie, were star athletes at what is now North Central College. Grant turned down a contract to play baseball with the Chicago Cubs and Ollie rejected a chance to play for the St. Louis Cardinals because their deeply religious dad, the second Nicholas Stenger, a banker, didn't want his boys playing baseball on Sundays. Ollie became football coach at LaGrange High School and Grant coached baseball, track and football at Wheaton High School.
"When you look at Naperville, it's the epitome of the American dream unfolding," says Ron Stenger, noting that his ancestors moved from their home in what is now part of Germany for more opportunity, and changed livelihoods as Naperville evolved. He is on the board of the Naperville Heritage Society, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary on Oct. 4-5 as part of the 10th Annual Oktoberfest at Naper Settlement, with music, food and beer. For details and tickets, visit NaperSettlement.org.
"We are a community gathering place," says Abbey K. Bobzin, communications team leader for Naper Settlement. "It's really nice to be able to bring the past and the present together as we look to the future."
Stenger Beer is long gone, but a few bottles have been unearthed over the years. The brewery never had a bottling operation but apparently received some sample bottles that were rejected because an imprint on the bottle said, "Naperville, Indiana," Ron Stenger says, noting he doesn't have a bottle and "a Stenger bottle is one of the most coveted things."
The Stenger family's success is due in part to "the value of hanging your hat in one place and staying there," Ron Stenger says with a grin. "People say, 'I'm a long-term Napervillian. I've been here 20 years.' I'll say, 'Really.'"
Oktoberfest boasts polka, pretzels and beer
What: 10th Annual Octoberfest
When: 5-10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, and noon-10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5
Where: Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St. Naperville
Who: Music by New Brass Express, Polkaholics, Die MusikMeisters, The Music Company, Freeze Dried and Wedding Banned
Cost: $15 adult, $10 youths, members and children younger than 4 are free
Info: To learn more or buy tickets, visit <a href="https://www.napersettlement.org/">NaperSettlement.org</a>.