Growing on the Prairie
Chamber Member Highlights
Last Cast Bait and Tackle, 1-20-25
July of 2021 found Brock and Nika Douma awaiting their second child, due at any minute! Brock worked in construction and Nika had a past in retail. The opportunity of buying the bait shop in Starbuck presented itself, and Brock said, “no way!” Nika was intrigued and with a little nudge from our own local business owner Jessi Blair, Nika’s mom, they decided to check it out. As soon as they left, Brock said, “Let’s make an offer”. What courageous and motivated young people they were, ages 32 and 29 at the time! It’s now going on 3 ½ years, they made it through the no ice fishing winter of 23/24, and it’s going well. The door never stopped opening while we were visiting as customers came and went. They were suited to this business in many ways, both what we’d call “people-people”, they have the love of this town, the sport and background in retail. The name of the business came after Brock was brainstorming with a friend he works with, which makes total sense to fishermen!
They joined the Starbuck Chamber of Commerce as soon as they opened their doors, and the exterior grant offered by the chamber to match investments made to the outside of one’s building helped at a time they really needed it. It’s not inexpensive to start up a new gig!
(The chamber invites all members to take advantage of this grant-we want our town to look fresh, right?! Contact the chamber for more details.)
Brock and Nika did a lot of improvement; especially with the tanks, built up the supplies, accessories and clothing and are open almost any time of day you may need to grab a lure! They added another fish house for rent this year and the guiding business is growing as word spreads of its availability. Brock is thrilled to have more and more customers from his home area of SW MN.
In asking about what they’d suggest to someone thinking about opening a business in Starbuck they both said, “Take a chance and go for it!”
What would they like in town? A car wash and a hardware store. They encourage all of us to be mindful of the town’s fabulous location being on a lake. More investment and activities beachside and in the park, more docks and any activities at the lake will help the town’s businesses. We couldn’t agree more!
starbuckchamber@gmail.com.