The business, built in 1987 by Steve and Vinnie Liscomb, has a gas station, grocery store, hotel and also sells propane. Chad and Corina Koeberl bought the business in 2021.

“We had kind of thought about maybe moving to Kingsford or moving to the U.P.,” Chad explained. He had been in sales in Green Bay and she, a war veteran, worked many jobs and was attending college. They learned that the Liscombs, who are Corina’s aunt and uncle, were looking to retire.

“I’ve been coming here my whole life but never thought I’d own it,” Corina said.

“In 2017, we went to work for them. You can’t just walk in here and take it over overnight,” Chad said.

Corina and Chad Koeberl, owners of Tall Pines in Amasa since 2021, stand in front of a shelf of local items they sell. The business also has a grocery store, gas station, hotel and they sell propane. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)

Since owning the business, they haven’t made any major changes. There have been some upgrades to electronics, freezers, coolers, but they didn’t want to change too much.

“The thing with this, or maybe Yoopers in general, they hate change, so the last thing we were going to do was come in and make a bunch of changes,” Chad joked.

When they took over, they added new beds, TVs, microwaves and refrigerators to all the six hotel rooms. The hotel also has a larger room they call the “treehouse” that sleeps 24.

“That would be for groups. Snowmobile parties take it over. We have the same deer hunting crew that’s been coming up here for 20 years. Side by side groups,” he said.

The grocery store stocks fresh meats, cheeses and deli items, homemade sandwiches, a full line of groceries and frozen foods, dairy, beer, wine and liquor. They sell hand-dipped Jilbert ice cream in the summer. They sell homemade local products such as honey and certain meats that can’t be found elsewhere.

Tall Pines in Amasa has a grocery store, gas station, hotel and also sells propane. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)

“A lot of locals bring stuff here. There’s a local author who brings his books. The lady that makes our clothes, she’s local,” Corina said. “We like to keep those kind of things here.”

They also have a variety of other novelty items.

They sell items needed for snowmobiling and for the ATV trails, such as parts, helmets and trail licenses. In addition, they have hunting and fishing licenses and supplies, bait and animal feed.

From Nov. 1 to March 31, Chad makes propane deliveries to 100s of customers from Sidnaw to Alpha to Sagola. And then there are all the camps in the area. They also service and sell propane tanks and appliances.

“There’s many, many, many remote camps. Starting now after the break up, after the frost comes out of the road, those are all seasonal, delivering once or twice a year,” he said.

The propane side of Tall Pines in Amasa is especially busy during the fall and winter months. When the former owners started propane sales, they closed the restaurant that operated on site because it was too difficult to do both. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)

Propane sales drop in the summer, but the grocery/gas station side of the business picks up.

“One season’s busier in one area and the other season’s busier in the other area, so it kind of balances out,” Corina said.

Chad handles all the propane side, while they have five employees, including Corina, for the store.

They live on site with their two daughters, which can be handy when they have hotel guests. There is a lot of after-hours traffic, Chad said, and occasionally they wake up to find a damaged vehicle in the parking lot that hit an animal or something else.

They see the business as sort of a hub for the community. People will call to ask about the roads to their camps. If a local doesn’t have enough cash, they can pay later, Corina said.

Tall Pines in Amasa sells a selection of deli items and premade sandwiches. In the summer, they have hand-dipped Jilbert’s Ice Cream. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)

“There’s generations of people that have been coming up here. There are camps that have been in families three or four generations. It has a special place in people’s hearts, this whole town,” Chad said.

“It’s very much a country store, we wanted to keep that,” Chad said. “And we support local. If we need something built, or if we buy something like appliances. They support us and we support them.”

They are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week, except some holidays. They are at 1968 U.S. 141, about 11 miles north of Crystal Falls. More information can be found on their website at tallpinesamasa.com.

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Marguerite Lanthier can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 85242, or mlanthier@ironmountaindailynews.com.