I love to hear how family traditions are carried on from generation to generation. I love to learn about a son or daughter taking over the family business and then making that business grow. That’s what’s happening here in Fairview.

I’m visiting Poor Richard’s Bait and Tackle Shop on West Lake Road. The business has been open at this location for about 75 years. Current owner Brittany Campanella grew up here. Her dad bought the shop in 1996 when Brittany was one year old. She’s been handling worms and minnows for longer than she can remember.

“My mom and some of the other people who worked here, they would be packing bait, and I would be all in. Now my daughter does the same thing. She’s all about it,” says Brittany.

Brittany did not grow up thinking she would someday own the store. She became a nurse. She did help her dad inside the store from time to time. In 2017, her dad began talking about retirement. He was going to sell the business. That’s when Brittany stepped forward.

“I was just helping out and didn’t think this was what I was going to do,” she recalls. “But I was able to bring my kids to work with me and be able to be a mom and work at the same time. I enjoyed that.”

Brittany gutted the building. She re-did the walls and the floors. She modernized the point-of-sale system. Poor Richard’s is as busy now as it ever has been. Anglers visit from all over the world. Brittany and her employees clean your fish. They have three big smokers to smoke your fish. They store your fish until you’re ready to go home. They will store your boat until you come back.

“It’s way more convenient to be able to leave it here,” says Brittany. “Go home for a few days. Come up the next weekend. Grab your boat and go.”

Erie County is the “Freshwater Fishing Capital of the World.” Surprisingly, there are not a lot of bait and tackle shops. It is a tough business. Poor Richard’s is open seven days a week from 5am to 9pm because fishing season never ends. The only day the business is closed is Christmas.

“Exhausting,” declares Brittany. “There’s a lot that you put into it. Way more than most people think.”

The joy comes when Brittany gives a customer great advice on where and how to catch a nice fish. That customer later comes back to the store with a big fish and a big smile. Then, the angler follows the longtime tradition of posing in front of the store with that nice fish. It’s a great day!

If an angler is unsuccessful on the water, he or she can purchase fish at Poor Richard’s. Frozen perch, walleye, and smoked salmon are sold at the shop. By the way, the business is still expanding. Poor Richard’s bait is now being sold at the Bicentennial Tower in Erie and at many Country Fair stores.