Nan & Jerry’s Bait Shop opened its doors in the spring of 1948. Owners Bill and Dorothy Daubner named the business after their two eldest. The first shop was a small red store that started selling night crawlers for 12 cents a dozen that Jerry’s future wife Suzie would collect with her father on Koepsel’s mink ranch. They also sold minnows that Jerry and his grandfather, Bert Barringer, would get in Kangaroo Lake. At that time the prices were 35 cents a dozen for minnows and 25 cents a dozen for night crawlers.
In 1967, Nan and Jerry’s moved across the road, to its current location where there was a trout pond that people could fish from. They also sold musical instruments at this time and were one of the first businesses to sell Door County apparel. Bill and Dorothy Daubner continued to run the shop, with the help of Jerry and Suzie, until 1989 when Jerry and Suzie bought the business from them.
Jerry, Suzie and their children Darrin, Dwayne, and Dana lived in Oshkosh, WI where Jerry was an Industrial Technology teacher and Suzie was a stay-at-home mom in the off season. In spring, Suzie would run the shop and her family would join her once summer break started. In 1999, Jerry retired from teaching and moved to Fish Creek with Suzie full time. They continued to operate the seasonal business and then spend their winters at their home in Kissimmee, Florida.
In May of 2015, Dwayne and his wife Jean chose to leave behind their corporate jobs and purchase Nan & Jerry’s from Jerry and Suzie to continue the quality and customer focused tradition that previous generations have established. Relocating to Fish Creek with their two children, Dexter and Dasia, meant Dwayne and Jean were able to enrich their family life and enjoy the outdoors while continuing the family business. Dwayne and Jean are passionate about creating a friendly environment in their store while providing the consumer with quality merchandise at affordable prices. The fourth generation of the extended family have already started to help grow the business; Dillon, Dayton, Dexter, Dasia and Drew enjoy helping customers and being involved in this family business that will carry on for many generations.
You will always have a friend at Nan & Jerry’s – visit once and you’ll be a customer for life.
