Post & Nickel perseveres, prospers

"It's challenging to sell fashion in Nebraska," Tafe Sup Bergo said.

And sometimes it's made harder by being in downtown, not being in a mall near similar retailers and blessed with acres of parking.

On top of that, the Bergos have had to keep it all together through one of the most brutal recessions the country has seen in decades.

They wouldn't have it any other way.

"We've always been a strong believer in downtown," said Davide Bergo, who grew up in Milan, Italy, and met Lincoln native Tafe Sup when she was working there as a fashion model.

The two eventually settled in Lincoln, where they took over management of the Post & Nickel clothing store at 14th and P streets.

Her parents, Gale and Susie Sup, started the store in 1966. Davide Bergo, 40, and his wife, 36, took over management in 1996.

While the recession was tough, Tafe Sup Bergo said, they had some advantages.

For one, her parents had the foresight to buy the building that houses the store long ago, so they don't have to pay rent.

And because it took a little longer for the recession to hit in Nebraska, they had some warning, which allowed them to alter their purchasing strategy.

One of the things that really helped, she said, was a loyal clientele.

"One hundred percent, we would not be here today without the loyal customers," she said.

She noted the response the store got to American Express' first-ever "Small Business Saturday" promotion, which encouraged people to shop locally on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

"It was very successful," Tafe Sup Bergo said. "We did a lot of business and had a lot of people wanting to support it.

"The one thing I think was definitely good about the recession is it made people think about small businesses."

The Bergos have been thinking more about small business in the past year, too, having branched out into a new one.

In March 2010, they bought Doozy's, a sandwich shop across the street from their store. 

Post & Nickel employees convinced them to do it, she said.

As longtime Doozy's customers, they didn't need a lot of convincing.

Despite the up-and-down nature of the downtown dining scene, with restaurants coming and going as often as the seasons change, the Bergos said they weren't worried about investing in Doozy's.

"Since we've been here, they've been open," Davide Bergo said. "So that made it much easier to do."

Like the Post & Nickel, Doozy's has many regular, loyal customers, some of whom come daily or even twice a day, he said.

Thanks in part to their investment in Doozy's and their longtime commitment to downtown, the Bergos won a 2010 Downtown Impact Award from the Downtown Lincoln Association.

"Clearly, these two individuals have made an enormous impact on Downtown Lincoln in the last 14 years by continuing the tradition of operating a long-standing business and by investing in a new business," the DLA said in announcing the award.

Tafe said getting the award meant a lot to her and Davide.

"It was really nice to be recognized," she said. "It was really motivating."