the Store was originally established in 1929.  It was built by Alex Leiker & Alex Schumacher.  At the time, it was the only grocery store in Munjor.  From this, two other grocery stores were built in Munjor years later. Both of these men and their families constructed the building to which they referred to as ‘Grandpa Leiker’s Store’.

Schumacher left the business in 1935 which left Alex Leiker and his family to run the store.  Children and grandchildren often worked in the store throughout the years.  Agnes (Leiker) Pfannenstiel , Grandchild, worked at the Munjor Store up until 1946 when she married. 

Memories of Alex Leiker’s grandchildren recall ‘Grandpa’ always giving them a brown bag of candy when they came to visit him.  He offered everything from fresh cream & eggs to boxed cereal to fresh meat products made by Grandpa Leiker himself and even clothing.  Whatever you needed, the Munjor Store had it.  The store also housed the Munjor Post Office for years.

Hilarius Leiker, son of Alex, was deeded the building in 1947.  During this time, Gilbert, son of Hilarius & Bridget , ran the business successfully, just as his grandfather would have wanted him to.  On August 7, 1952, Gilbert was killed in a car accident. 

A few months later, the store was deeded to Martin Leiker, son of Alex Leiker. Martin supervised the main grocery store in Munjor for 15 years.  In 1962, after 33 years of watching his enterprise succeed, Alex Leiker passed away.  It was not shortly after Alex’s death, 1969, that Martin passed away as well.

Vernie Pfannenstiel, Munjor, KS, took over the store in February of 1970.  As the only grocery store in town at this point, he sold everything from milk to every day items.  He also produced and packaged his own processed meat.  From his purchase through the early 1990’s, Vernie and his wife ran the grocery store. 

In March of 1999, Steve Pfannenstiel , Great-Grandson of Alex Leiker, and, wife, Jeanette, made a decision to purchase the building to keep it in the family.  After many suggestions and opinions from neighbors, family & friends, Steve & Jeanette decided to renovate the building and utilize the facility as a family gathering place. 

 In the summer of 2000, renovation of the building began.  Steve & Jeanette were not alone.  Family, friends, & co-workers offered their talent & skills.  Steve was determined to have the upstairs of the building finished by Thanksgiving so that the families could celebrate the holidays at The Store .  Although there was no collaboration on a name for this historic building, the name ‘The Store’ was used from day one of renovation and has been used by the family since.  

The restoration process began with construction on the outside of the building, starting with replacing the entire roof.   The entire floor was replaced due to years worth of damage from the leaking roof.  With the completion of these two items, the family focused on restoring the inside of the building beginning with separating the dining area from the kitchen. 

Every night after work, weekends, and any spare time in between, Steve and his ‘crew’ tore out, replaced, scraped, wired, sanded, treated, painted and restored.  Two restroom facilities were installed in the building.  The rusted antique tin ceiling was cleaned and then painted an off white color.  The kitchen was set up with stoves, tables, sinks, refrigerator space, a smoker, freezers and any utensil you could think of.  The outside of the building was then painted later on in 2002.

Restoration continued in 2003 when the basement was completely gutted and refurbished. Circular booths, free-standing tables and chairs, brick walls and wooden panels, knotty pine ceiling, recessed lighting, as well as well-appointed hanging light fixtures make for a very comfortable and attractive area for gathering. The basement was completed in time to host the 1968 Hays High School class reunion.

Since Thanksgiving in 2000, the Pfannenstiel & Wagner families have been gathering at ‘The Store’ for holidays & celebrations.