A Florence native, Katy Church-Baeb previously worked for a pharmacy as a technician in the mail division while in Mesa, Arizona. John Church-Baeb, a Green Bay native, has a background in IT and now works for an area bank.

Katy Church-Baeb will be more involved with the day-to-day operations of the business — renamed Cast Away! Bait Shop — while John’s role for now will primarily be building maintenance and some gunsmithing.

Frequent visitors to the area, the Baebs noticed when Whisler Outdoors went on the market.

“We have always wanted to own our own business and this kept popping up in the idea pool,” Church-Baeb said. “We figured for the price of an established business, we would be kind of silly to just pass it up.”

CAST AWAY! BAIT Shop is open Tuesdays through Saturdays at 628 Central Ave. in Florence, Wis. It also has a vending machine for live bait in back of the building that can be accessed at any time of the day or week.

Church-Baeb said working for themselves and getting to know the community has been a rewarding experience. She enjoys fishing and has been reacquainting herself with the local lakes so she can steer out-of-town visitors in the right direction.

The warm winter made for poor ice conditions this year, which put a damper on Cast Away! Bait Shop’s first months in business. But Church-Baeb is optimistic and the opening day is right around the corner.

While she does not plan to initially deviate much from what the previous owners offered, they do have some changes in mind. Church-Baeb said that they intend to expand their camping equipment offerings and are working through some hurdles to be able to rent out kayaks.

Cast Away! Bait Shop is also seeking a federal firearm license so they can sell guns. Hunters already can find ammunition, rifle accessories, bows and archery supplies by PSE Archery.

Cast Away! Bait Shop stocks just about anything a person could need for fly fishing, ice fishing, stream fishing and lake fishing, Church-Baeb said. They carry tackle, live bait and handcrafted St. Croix rods.

They can issue fishing and hunting licenses and trail permits as well.

Cast Away! Bait shop also has Stormy Kromer hats, Minnetonka Moccasins and Blackout Coffee.

Church-Baeb said that Florence is a great place to be in business and the response from customers has been overwhelmingly positive.

“A lot of the comments that we get from regulars is that they are just glad that we are still here,” Church-Baeb said. “Either it is too far for people to travel into Iron Mountain to get what they are looking for or they prefer to support a small, local business.”

Cast Away! Bait Shop is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays at 628 Central Ave. in Florence. Those just needing live bait can use a vending machine in back of the building that is available 24/7.

The Daily News plans to highlight some of the new businesses in the region. Know of one that recently opened or changed hands? Contact Jim Paul at 906-774-2772, ext. 229, or jpaul@ironmountaindailynews.com.