There’s a new local couple at the helm of Dave’s Sports Shop.
Will and Jenn Lathrop took ownership of the shop on May 1, 2022. The local sporting goods store had been under the ownership of the VanderHoek family since its founding in 1957 as Jude’s Sporting Goods.
Since October, the Lathrops have been training in the store under Dave and Claudia VanderHoek, who have been mentoring them to take over the business.
“Becoming the owners of Dave’s Sports Shop was something that we talked about and prayed through,” Will Lathrop said. “After meeting with a few advisors, we had the confidence to commit our family to this adventure.”
Will plans to manage much of the daily operations while Jenn focuses on human resources, accounting and other office tasks.
Experience and a passion for the outdoors.
A Marine Corps veteran, Will has been an active outdoorsman for years. He primarily hunts deer and elk but also enjoys high country bear hunting on occasion. He has experience with rifle and bowhunting and enjoys the extended seasons those options provide. He has been getting more into waterfowl hunting and is an avid fisherman and firearms owner.
“I have been to Dave’s countless times for hunting licenses, shooting gear and all the things that go along with that,” he said.
While Jenn did not grow up hunting or fishing, she enjoys hiking and camping and has been active in team sports, playing soccer and volleyball in her young adult years. Until recently, she lived in Canada, where she was a personal trainer. Now in Whatcom County, she owns and operates an online training business called The Healthy Mom Academy.
The Lathrops feel grateful and blessed that Dave and Claudia took them under their wing with grace and patience during the discovery process. At times, there were hurdles that seemed insurmountable.
“The VanderHoeks invested huge amounts of time and were there with us along the way,” Will Lathrop said.
What’s next for Dave’s Sports Shop?
While the Pacific Northwest has a long heritage in outdoor sports, interest spiked during the pandemic, with many people deciding to reconnect with nature. Supply chain issues also got people thinking about alternative ways to source food. More women took an interest in hunting and shooting; more families spent time fishing and camping.
The Lathrops plan to serve this expanded interest by offering in-store classes and workshops and are exploring the possibility of expanding some product lines.
“Our intent is to continue to serve the community as Dave and Claudia have done and to continue to meet the needs of Whatcom County hunters and adventurists,” Jenn Lathrop said.
Customers may not notice much of a difference when they visit the store. Friendly, knowledgeable staff will still answer questions and help with the selection of products for fishing, hunting, shooting and other sports activities.
Dave and Claudia have done a great job building a team of experts who serve customers at the shop, and it has been a pleasure to work with them thus far, the Lathrops said.
But will they change the name of the store? With a laugh, the Lathrops tell customers that it would be easier to change Will’s name to Dave than to rebrand.
“Dave’s Sports Shop has a solid reputation,” Will Lathrop said. “We have no plans to change the name of the business.”
What’s next for the VanderHoeks?
Dave has worked at the business in various ways for nearly 50 years. While he won’t be in charge after the sale, he plans to stay involved in the community.
“We are staying in Lynden, so I might even end up being one of those guys sharing stories in the coffee area at the back of the store,” he said.
The VanderHoeks, along with their kids and grandkids who have worked in the business over the years, will miss the people who have used the sports shop as a place to gather, sip coffee and talk about life’s adventures. They will continue to guide and support Will and Jenn in the store, as needed, through July.
After that, they’re not sure what life will feel like, but they plan to fill their days with grandchildren, travel and, of course, more time in the outdoors.
The VanderHoeks feel good about handing their family business over to another local family that shares the values Dave’s was built on.
“We’re excited to pass this shop over to Will and Jenn and their young family,” said Claudia VanderHoek. “They have a high level of integrity and a heart for the business. Having worked with them for many months, we have full confidence that they have what it takes to succeed in the community.”
An open house retirement party for the VanderHoeks will be held at the Mt. Baker Rotary building in Lynden, across the street from Dave’s Sports Shop, on June 8. This will also serve as an opportunity for the community to meet the Lathrops.
Details will can be found on the shop’s Facebook event page by clicking here, or by following the page at https://www.facebook.com/davessports.
For the first time in 63 years, Dave’s Sports Shop — a much-loved sporting goods store in Lynden’s Fairway Center — may be owned and operated by someone other than a VanderHoek.
Current owners Dave and Claudia VanderHoek are perched on the edge of retirement, and they are ready to sell the business to someone who appreciates the community and outdoor recreation as much as they do.
“This has been a wonderful lifestyle business – one that has allowed us to connect deeply with a supportive community and staff members over the years, and to work together as a family,” Dave VanderHoek said. “Being in this industry has allowed me and our family a chance to enjoy countless fishing and hunting trips and other memorable outings.”
“Claudia and I won’t be leaving the community,” he said. “We’re simply ready to pass this opportunity on to someone else who would like to grow the business as my family has for decades.”
A long history in Lynden
Since 1957, the VanderHoek family has provided fishing, hunting and outdoor recreation supplies to people from Whatcom County, the Lower Mainland of British Columbia and beyond.
The first store — Jude’s Sporting Goods & Housewares at 411 Front Street — was owned and operated by Dave’s parents, Jude and Gert VanderHoek. That store and its owners became part of Lynden culture and history, so much so that the Lynden Pioneer Museum built a replica of Jude’s storefront that contains authentic photos and products from the 1950s and ′60s.
Over the decades, the VanderHoek family continuously operated the sporting goods store in downtown Lynden and in Fairway Center under several names, including Coast to Coast Hardware and Ace Hardware & Sports. The store became known as Dave’s Sports Shop when it moved to its current location — 1738 Front Street — in 2007. That move tripled the size and expanded the operation into a full-line sporting goods store.
Countless citizens and four generations of VanderHoeks have worked in the business, including all of Dave and Claudia’s five children and most recently their oldest grandchildren, Jude and Arie VanderHoek.
Handing off a family-run business
The VanderHoeks have recently been pondering retirement and the transition of Dave’s Sports Shop to new owners.
“We had a five-year plan at one point, then we looked up and 13 years had gone by,” Claudia VanderHoek said. “Time sure flies when you’re having fun and enjoying your community. It is now time to slow down, spend more time with our grandchildren and volunteer more.”
Dave said that he and Claudia have managed the business for so long that all five of their adult children have found occupations of their own. Some moved out of the area, and each has established their own career. The family is comfortable with the store not transitioning to the next generation.
“It is more important that the store continues to thrive and serve the community,” Dave said. “We’ll be happy to transition the business to someone outside the family who can move forward with fresh energy and new ideas.”
Industry optimism and growth opportunities
This year has been great for sales at Dave’s Sports Shop, even though the shop was closed for five weeks at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the business reopened May 1, it was flooded by existing customers looking to restock their outdoor recreation supplies. Dave and Claudia also saw a lot of new faces — people who wanted to try outdoor activities, many for the first time.
“Lots of young parents came in and bought fishing gear,” Dave said. “They had never been fishing before, and they wanted to take their kids outdoors.”
Sales in the fishing department, he said, including crabbing and shellfish harvesting equipment, have skyrocketed as a result of the pandemic. The same is true of hunting supplies.
Like similar businesses across America, Dave’s Sports Shop also has seen steep increases in gun and ammunition sales this year, with citizens concerned about an elevated level of societal unrest.
“More people are coming into the store for personal protection reasons,” Dave said, “and it has been hard to keep the shelves stocked with the supplies people want due to high demand and low supply in the current times.”
The VanderHoeks say that there is potential for continued strong growth in the business, thanks to the many people who have now been exposed to — and found themselves loving — outdoor sports.
“There is a real opportunity to expand product lines and build online sales,” Claudia said. “Someone will be able to quickly build upon a very solid base; we’ll be happy to share our knowledge and industry insight with those who may be interested in exploring this opportunity.”
What is next in the process?
For now, it’s business as usual – Dave, Claudia and the full team will continue to serve customers and the community as they have over decades past. They will speak directly with anyone who would like to explore ownership of Dave’s Sports Shop, although they are asking that those conversations not take place in the store.
Interested parties can send a quick email to Claudia at claudia@davessports.com to arrange an appointment.
As of this writing, Yelp displays only 3 reviews for our store, with a 2.5-star average. There are an additional 8 genuine reviews that are “not currently recommended” by Yelp, which are not shown unless you click the small gray text under the other reviews and are not calculated into the “average rating” displayed on the main Yelp page. The average of these 8 reviews is 4.375 stars (5 of the 8 hidden reviews are 5-stars, two are 4-stars, and one is 2-stars). Yelp uses software to figure out which reviews to display, and unfortunately their software has skewed our displayed average review terribly. Honestly, we’re really bummed that these reviews are hidden and not counted, because if you read them you can see that they are legitimate customers who we work so hard to serve well, and then their input is hidden.
To give some context, on our Facebook page, our more than 2,500 fans have given us 127 ratings with an average of 4.6 stars (out of all 127 ratings, there is only one 1-star and one 2-star rating). On our Google page, there are 7 reviews with an average rating of 4.3 stars. So, we hope you can look at the big picture and know that while we are not a perfect 5-star company for everyone, on average our customers are very satisfied.
The algorithm that Yelp uses to determine which reviews to display is largely very secretive, but looks at things such as how many friends a reviewer has on Yelp, how many other reviews they’ve left, how recently they’ve been active on Yelp, whether they have a profile picture or not, etc. So, that being said, if you are a user of Yelp and appreciate our store, we would sure appreciate you leaving us a review! Maybe Yelp will even show your review instead of hiding it under “not recommended”! 
We always appreciate your feedback, positive or negative, to feedback@davessports.com. Thanks!
A WORD ON AMMO AVAILABILITY: (October 2013)
As most of you know, ammunition supply has been extremely limited nationwide for many months. We’ve done our best to keep as much stock as possible. The good news is, as we head into Fall, there is a little bit of improvement. And, for hunters, the good news is that most hunting rifle calibers are not among the hardest-to-get. The bad news is, general supply is not expected to improve for another 9 months or so — and that’s if there’s no major surge in demand between now and then.\
We are maintaining a “Wait List” of who to call as shipments come in — so if you’re not already on the list for your needed caliber(s), give us a call at (360) 354-5591 to get on the list.
Come by or give us a call to see if we have your caliber and preferred hunting load in stock. And, this year — rather than buying a box to sight-in and counting on more of that same load being available the day before you leave on your hunt — be sure to buy enough of the load you’re sighting in to last you through the range and the hunt!
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