A beloved Launceston boating shop is back trading, with Tamar Marine reopening in a temporary pop-up store while it works towards rebuilding from scratch.
The family business has sold fishing and boating gear to Tasmania’s anglers and boaties since 1979.
It recently opened the doors of its new Invermay site, after fire destroyed its original Riverside store.
Manager Brady Wagner said staff moved fast to find a new home.
“Pretty quickly after we mourned the loss of the shop, we sort of jumped back into trying to locate a new premises,” he said.
“We found sort of something within the first few weeks.”
The new building had been two separate shops divided by walls.
Staff spent about two and a half months stripping it back into one open space, putting up shelves and restocking before opening day.
Wagner said locals had been quick to show their support.
“A lot of people have been quite happy walking through the door, obviously excited for us and excited to be able to get their fishing and safety equipment,” he said.
“A lot of people have just popped in to say hello and congratulate us and thank us for getting back in business so quickly.”
The pop-up is only ever meant to be temporary.
Wagner said the new store was “a little bit small” and the business was planning to rebuild on its old site.
He said it would realistically take 18 months to two years before the business could move back to its original location.
“We’ll move back there as quick as we can,” he said.
The reopening follows a fire that tore through the West Tamar Road store shortly after midnight on March 5.
About 30 firefighters took roughly two hours to bring it under control, arriving within three minutes to find flames coming from the second storey.
No one was hurt and the fire was later ruled accidental.
