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New owners at the Derby Inn

Ben Rosa, Savanna Moler, reopened Guckeen’s well-known bar on June 1

By Chuck Hunt - Editor | Aug 4, 2024

New owners of the Derby Inn, Ben Rosa, above left, and Savanna Moler, stand outside the Derby Inn last week. The two, who are married and are from Fairmont, opened up the bar/restaurant on June 1. They are planning a grand opening on Friday of this week.

The new owners of the Derby Inn in Guckeen still seem pretty excited to be owning and operating a bar/restaurant in a small town in far western Faribault County.

Husband and wife Ben Rosa and Savanna Moler both were born and raised in Fairmont. Technically Rosa owns the property (land and building) and Moler owns the business, officially named The Derby Inn, LLC. And the LLC rents the property from Rosa.

“Savanna runs the place,” Rosa says. “She sees to the day-to-day operations and runs it and operates it.”

However, Rosa works there as well, as there are no other employees.

Rosa bought the property on Nov. 30 of last year. But it took a lot of work to get everything done that needed to be done. So, technically, the official opening date of the ‘new’ Derby Inn was on June 1.

“I wanted to keep the name the same,” Moler says. “It is nice to keep it as is, since it has been here quite some time.”

Rosa and Moler say they spent a lot of time just cleaning and fixing up the place before they opened. Most of that work was done in the kitchen.

“It was a joint effort,” Rosa says. “The kitchen was the No. 1 priority. The health department deemed it unacceptable the way it was.”

Moler says they redid the walls, brought in new stainless-steel shelving and replaced some of the appliances and ran all new pop and tap lines in the bar.

“We also de-cluttered the place,” she says. “You know how things get accumulated over time. So, we got rid of a lot of things, just to give it a clean, fresh new look.”

Some of the big changes came in the food and drinks they serve.

“I love to cook,” Moler says. “I changed the menu a lot. I like to use fresh ground chuck for the burgers and I like to keep everything fresh.”

Moler also likes to make her own sauces and is just starting to create her own Bloody Mary mix.

“For years I have had my own business called Home Spun Sauces and Spreads,” Moler says. “They were gourmet party supplies. I would go to vendor shows and other places and sell my products where I could.”

Some of the things she likes to make are a variety of mustards, 28 varieties of hot sauces and several kinds of pepper jellies, just to name a few of the items she makes. She plans on incorporating many of those items into the menu at the Derby Inn.

“I also love to do canning,” she adds. “I have been canning since I was 14-years old.”

The couple also owned and ran their own construction company in Fairmont for about 10 years, specializing in roofing.

“I had to quit that, mainly due to health issues,” Rosa says. “I had some bone issues and I also have a hard time dealing with the sun and the heat.”

The couple was looking to make a career change, and since Moler loves to cook, they thought about getting a food truck.

Then, they heard about the Derby Inn being for sale, and Rosa bought it from Steve and Megan Rickert, who had run it for about 15 years.

“I thought it would be a great chance for Savanna to showcase her cooking skills,” Rosa says. “And we can still continue to work together.”

Since they do not have any employees, the couple takes shifts, with Moler as the boss and Rosa as the employee.

“We are open from 11 a.m. to close,” Moler says. “Most weekdays close means 11 p.m. or later, but on Friday and Saturday, close usually happens at 1 a.m. But we stay as long as there are customers.”

The kitchen, however closes at 9 p.m., but they continue to serve pizza at any time.

They are bringing in some forms of entertainment, including volleyball, Bingo on Wednesdays, meat raffles and karaoke every other Friday starting on Aug. 30.

They are also having a grand opening celebration on Aug. 7 with KFMC radio broadcasting live from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. and the Fat City All-Stars band from Mankato playing from 8 to 12 p.m.

Rosa and Moler don’t have a lot of spare time with running the Derby Inn, but they still find time to spend with Moler’s son, Eli, who is 13 and almost 14.

Moler, of course, spends time cooking and canning and likes to kayak and hike. Rosa likes to fish and is a part time DJ.

Right now, however, a lot of their focus is on the Derby Inn. While business has been pretty good so far, they are hoping to continue to build up the clientele by offering a variety of good food, beers, wines and cocktails – and some fun activities.

So far, the couple is loving their new career and the challenges it presents.