06/10/2019
Good Afternoon Friends and Fellow Hobbyist,
Are you sitting down? Because we need to talk. I'll warn you this will be a bit of a lengthy read but I hope you take the time to go through all of it because I think it's important to give everyone here a thorough explanation of what I'm about to say. So pull up a chair and let's get to it.
After much deliberation it is with heavy heart I regret to inform all of you that we have made the unfortunate decision to move towards closing the shop. Please understand this decision was not made lightly. We had hoped to find a buyer as we have had some promising interest but as with all business deals things can change unexpectedly. I wish we could keep searching but with my current health issues we just dont have the time it normally takes to find a buyer for such a niche business like this. While someone is still welcome to throw their hat in the ring and make an offer, realistically we know that won't happen.
So many of you have cautiously expressed to us lately how they dont know what they'll do if they have to shop "elsewhere". This breaks my heart and I do apologize! I didn't want to leave this city, and all of you whom I call friends, no where to go but sometimes things dont happen how we plan them I suppose. Many of you have known me from the early days, when the shop first opened. Throughout that time I have put the shop before everything else, it was everything to me. It has for roughly 10 years been of the utmost importance in my life. Even before I was the owner of the shop I worked tirelessly to move it forward, seeing potential no one else saw. When the time came that I could no longer physically work in the shop, Justin graciously stepped in to keep things going. He has killed himself to try to keep my vision alive, but in growing the shop as we have, it has become an ever consuming task to keep up with what it has become. While we've both worked ourselves to death to put the shop first, it's now time to put ourselves and more importantly our health and well being first.
It was important to me for you to hear directly from me why we came to this decision. The REAL reason we came to this decision, not whatever crazy made up reasons will weave through the local rumor mill. Like any business we've had our naysayers and Im sure a few small pockets of people will celebrate this announcement.......people we've probably once told their tank was too small for a fish 😆. Despite those people we're proud of our legacy and the impact we've had on the local fish keeping community. Even if we've ticked a few people off over the years, trying to push responsible fish keeping, were okay with that! For the rest of you who have loved us from beginning to end please know that we love you all too! We couldn't have done it without you. You are not customers to us, you are friends and you were the lifeline of this shop. We have grown to know you personally, to share in your aquarium triumphs and tribulations. Your successes felt like ours and we felt the pain of your losses. I'm so very sorry we won't be there to continue on with you.
This year will be the shops 10 year anniversary and we are happy to have spent those 10 years with ALL of you. While I may have been the face of the shop for many of its years, I did not and could not have done it alone. To all of the staff who have also put their heart and soul into this place over the years please know you have my utmost gratitude.
In the upcoming days we will start to announce when and what we will be selling off. Before the vultures start circling I would like to make clear our personal stock, grow out, etc. WILL NOT be for sale! We may take a break for a good long while after we finish up here BUT you never know......you may see us online one day in the future!
