But one the of the store’s regular customers, Gary Roberson, kept thinking about what he and his fishing buddies were missing. A tournament fisherman, Roberson used to buy plenty of tackle at the store and several friends enjoyed meeting there.
The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to bring FQ back. So he leased the same building and began to refurbish it.
His next move was to talk store manager Chris Hochwalt, 48, into coming back. That wasn’t easy, because Hochwalt had made plans to change careers.
But Roberson, 60, convinced him to return as his partner. They secured finances from several area anglers and plan to reopen the store on Friday, March 11, as Fisherman’s Headquarters, or Fisherman’s HQ for short, with new ideas, a marketing strategy and new merchandise.
“The store became pretty stagnant during the last few years,” said Hochwalt, who started working at Fisherman’s Quarters in 1980 after he graduated from Meadowdale High School. “The store was old and we didn’t take advantage of all the resources available today.”
He said they would use the Internet, text and e-mail blasts and other ways to promote the store.
“When you think about it, we are in downtown Dayton, but we are only five minutes from I-75 and one minute from Route 35. So we are just as easy to get to as any other tackle store,” Hochwalt said.
He also said they will expand store hours to seven days a week and begin selling live bait as early as 6 a.m. through the back door.
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