Business has been up for Albert Lea Tax Service since it moved into a former Dairy Queen building at the corner of Pearl Street and Broadway Avenue three years ago.

Bob Smith, owner of Albert Lea Tax, said paid to have the building at 502 Broadway Ave. gutted and the roof torn off.

“At one point, it was a floor and four walls and that was all there was to this building,” he said.

He moved Albert Lea Tax Service from space he rented at 220 W. Clark Street because he needed space to grow and needed parking. He said he thought the new location would get him greater visibility but the amount of new customers the past two tax seasons was unexpected.

They bought the Dairy Queen building in July 2006 and moved in Jan. 1, 2007. Business shot up in 2007 and then increased again by the same amount in 2008.

He credits the boost in customers to the building’s proximity to the Freeborn County Courthouse and to more customer parking. Being on Broadway Avenue and close to the courthouse give the business visibility, and being able to park easily helps folks get in and out quickly. It’s cold during tax season.

On Clark Street, the office building tended to blend in with other buildings. The former Dairy Queen building looks different and stands out.

The building has another quirk. Smith pointed out how the city and county can’t agree on its address. The city calls it 504 S. Broadway Ave. for water bills and the county calls it 502 S. Broadway Ave. for property tax records. Neither will change. The U.S. Postal Service says it is happy to deliver to both listings.

Smith, 61, was born in Graceville in Big Stone County. His parents bought a farm near Benson, the seat of Swift County, and that’s where he grew up and graduated from high school.

He left for the Twin Cities and attended Minnesota Business College for two years. He went to work in credit reports with Dun & Bradstreet and met his wife-to-be. Jean Linnes, who worked at Midway Hospital in St. Paul, was a tenant in the duplex his brother owned. Her father was the co-owner of Linnes-Wieler Chrysler Plymouth in Albert Lea.

They wanted to get out of the Cities so they moved to Albert Lea. He worked as an insurance agent at Security Insurance for three years. Then Lois Peterson and he started a tax and insurance office. She ran Peterson Tax and he ran Town & Country Insurance. With night courses in Austin and Owatonna, he garnered a four-year degree from Mankato State University in general business.

He sold Town & Country Insurance in 1983 and went into teaching insurance classes, something he still does in the off-season with his other business, Success Systems Institute. He also did taxes part-time.

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan signed legislation that made the tax code more complicated. Smith knew that many people who had done their own taxes would need assistance. In those days, lawyers often did taxes but they were starting to phase that role out. Smith saw a market and opened Albert Lea Tax Service on Clark Street. It was side-by-side with Peterson Tax, which already had its dedicated customers. When Peterson retired in 1989, Smith bought her company.

Now Albert Lea Tax has grown to do bookkeeping, payroll and financial planning, Smith said. He brought Scott Morreim on board nine years ago. During tax season, Albert Lea Tax has 8 full-time employees. During the off-season, it has two part-time employees and one full-time (Smith).

Morreim, 40, has winters off from his main job at Morreim Drainage. Because his degree is in accounting, working at Albert Lea Tax lets him use his education and gives him a second income.

The hours can be long and grueling, too. Morreim said the hard work brings the staff together.

Smith said they know each other well enough that it has a smooth system for a hectic time. The workers have a short celebration at the end of the day on April 15, but the next day they split ways.

“It’s long hours, but it is enjoyable to work with everybody,” Morreim said.