Avalon Hodge Podge will officially close its doors on September 4 after a quarter century of service.
Owners Tammie and Dave Carbohn recently celebrated their 25th season of business with a proclamation from Avalon Mayor John McCorristin for the numerous contributions the shop has made to the community, but the Carbohns are ready to retire and will be moving to Florida this month following their month-long “going-out-of-business” sale that began on August 1.
The decision to retire was not easy, but ultimately Tammie and Dave are ready. “After 50 years in the workforce, the time was right,” said Tammie. The couple had bought a house in Florida back in 2012 and have spent the winters down there while the shop was closed for the season.
The local bait, tackle, and marine supply shop has been a trusted resource for casual fishermen, serious anglers, and boat lovers in south Jersey. The store offers over 6,000 items for fishing, crabbing, and boating, stocking shelves with every bait a South Jersey fisherman could want from inshore fluke to offshore tuna.
“The hardest part is saying goodbye to our customers,” said Tammie. “We appreciate their loyalty and patronage these past 25 years. We’ve watched the kids grow up and become parents of their own and start bringing their kids.”
Avalon Hodge Podge has been a labor of love for the couple who met in high school back in Bensalem, PA. They spent their weekends fishing, a favorite tradition introduced to Dave by his father when he would spend summers in Cape May. Ultimately, Dave shared his love of fishing with Tammie, and when he saw the bait and tackle shop listed for sale in an ad in The Fisherman Magazine 25 years ago, he proposed a move from Montgomery County, PA where they were living at the time. Tammie agreed to take the plunge, and the rest as they say is history.
“It was half the size it is today,” explained Tammie. “The former owner Hal Sprang named it Avalon Hodge Podge because it carried a little bit of everything: groceries, house wares, silverware, plates, glasses as well as a little fishing and tackle.”
Slowly, the Carbohns transitioned Avalon Hodge Podge to its current focus on bait, tackle, and marine supplies. In 2002, they gave the business a facelift, replacing the 70’s paneling with a modern alternative. In 2008, when their friend and colleague Chuck Roseman retired and closed Roseman’s Marine in Stone Harbor, they took over his inventory and doubled their size.
Avalon Hodge Podge’s year-round customer base is primarily from Avalon, Stone Harbor and Sea Isle, as well as the surrounding shore areas such as Cape May Court House. However, summer clientele come from all over the country and even from some European countries. Avalon Hodge Podge would also process online orders and has shipped all over, including Alaska and Hawaii. Locally, they’ve partnered with many local captains and will book their charters, matching anglers with the best ones to accommodate their needs.
Avalon Hodge Podge always maintained a loyal customer base because of their exceptional service, and ultimately became the source in Avalon for all things fishing, they often accommodate customers’ needs, such as boat slip rentals with the business tagline, “everything you need to catch fish at the Jersey shore except the gas.”
Sadly, while the Carbohns tried to find a buyer who would retain the bait and tackle shop as it has been since the late 1990s, the final closing this week will ultimately lead to the construction of a duplex on the Avalon Hodge Podge property.
“We’ve built relationships with a lot of businesses in town, providing goods and services to help support their businesses and they in turn have supported us,” Tammie said, adding “We will miss everyone who has been a part of the Avalon Hodge Podge journey.”
Stop by Avalon Hodge Podge at 2389 Ocean Drive in Avalon before September 4 to wish Dave and Tammie Carbohn all the best in their next journey to the Sunshine State this fall.
