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WORTHINGTON – They used to break ground on the red-brick road in the former Chamber of Commerce building on Third Avenue, which is now home to Worthington Tax and Business Services.
Inside, the building underwent extensive renovations, from the layout of the building’s offices to the replacement of exposed brick walls and windows.
It’s a big change from Worthington Tax’s former office on Oxford Street, said owner Bill Gordon. For two years, it has been looking for a new location to provide nine more spaces for its employees — and more convenience and privacy for Worthington Tax and Business Services clients.
Renovations to the building began last August, and on Jan. 1, Worthington Tax was moving into its new location, with plenty of time to settle before the start of the 2023 tax season.
“The great thing about having Kyle[Johnson]as our project leader is his vision and Johnson’s commitment to historic downtown Worthington,” Gordon said. “We tried to restore anything that could be original.”
The doors in the office are the fur used in the armory that houses the Nobles County Historical Society. Above the interior sign at the front, as you walk through the doors, plaster has been removed to reveal the building’s original three windows.
Behind the front desk sits a pair of windows from the media center at the former Central Elementary School, where Gordon attended school — and above those windows is a stone plaque, another nod to Worthington’s history, donated by the Johnson family.
Emma McNamee / The Globe
It’s a space designed with customers’ privacy and comfort in mind, adding historic and local touches to the downtown building, Gordon said. From the paintings and artwork on the walls to the snacks and coffee served to customers, that element of the environment made it blend into the new space.
“This is an investment in the company. It’s an investment in the future of Worthington,” he said. “We love serving the people who live here and in the surrounding area.”
Worthington Tax & Business Services offers both business and personal accounting as well as tax preparation, business planning assistance and farm succession planning, among other services.
“We want to be a one-stop shop as a full-service accounting firm,” Gordon said.
Tax season marks the busiest time of the year for businesses, with employees logging their longest hours. During the summer months, Worthington Tax remains open for business, but usually with shorter hours. While Gordon is busy on his family’s farm from spring planting to fall harvest, he is still on schedule.
Emma McNamee
It’s that aspect of the business that he thinks makes Gordon Worthington Tax unique — most of his employees have some sort of experience in farming or business, a quality he says gives him great insight into serving the local tax and business needs. .
“The customer sitting across the table is the most important person to us at that moment,” says Gordon, a philosophy he credits in part to former boss Bob Lindquist. “We want to make sure we get their story and that they’re taken care of and their business is taken care of.”
Entering the tax business was not something Gordon had planned when he graduated from college in 1999.
“All I wanted to do was farm, but the farm economy wasn’t great,” Gordon said.
So, he approached Bob and Gloria Lindquist about a job and was hired on a temporary basis. Two weeks later, Gordon said, Linquist hired him full-time and has worked on taxes for the past 22 years — though he spends a good portion of the year on the farm.
In the year In 2015, Gordon bought Worthington Tax & Business Services and Lindquist retired after staying on to help with the transition.
Worthington’s tax staff has continued to grow over the years and includes several bilingual employees who have helped bridge the gap in serving Spanish speakers in town, Gordon shared.
“I see it’s especially important in Worthington, where we have Spanish-speaking taxpayers. Many of them are entrepreneurs and small business owners,” Gordon said. “It’s been fun and really rewarding to be able to grow in that community and help their businesses succeed.”
In addition to the new location in Worthington, Gordon recently purchased Lynn Tax in Fulda from Lynn Nelson, whom Gordon has worked with for years. Now, a few Worthington Tax employees split their time between the Worthington office and Lynn Tax, helping to take some of the long days off during tax season.
“There is such a great and diverse community in this area,” Gordon said. We are truly here to help in any way we can.
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