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Meet Liisa Karkkainen From The Fish Shop
Liisa Karkkainen’s The Fish Shop has been in business for 54 years and has become a popular stop for both visitors and locals within the region of Thunder Bay. Upon entering the shop visitors are sure to notice the prominent initialled antique scale that is the heart of this bustling local business. The Fish Shop with its boutique elegance and style is best known for both its traditional Finnish smoked fish and impressive selection of amethyst rocks, ornaments, figurines, jewellery and so much more!
Karkkainen fondly recalls first moving as a child to the property situated along the former Trans-Canada Highway, now Lakeshore Drive, during the winter of 1970. Her family had purchased the birch-filled property just as they were transitioning into the fishing industry. Her family was not intimidated by Lake Superior as her parents were from Puumala, Finland and were familiar and confident with the demands and lifestyle that commercial fishing presented.
The first building on the property was a sauna. Her family slept in the sauna for three days before their small trailer arrived, which once stood on the far side of their present-day parking lot. Her family’s rough outhouse was a welcomed addition that first winter.
Karkkainen recalls with pride how her Uncle Arvo smoked fish out at Point Magnet Island at their fishing camps and then brought it back to her mother to sell. Hilkka, Karkkainen’s mother would leave their ‘wee trailer’ to tend to arriving customers desiring smoked fish.
Thoroughly sweeping the floor and keeping the property clear of brush with a wooden handled Kosack machete are just some of Karkkainen’s early memories and contributions to her family’s business. Karkkainen still spends time trimming and detailing her property with much appreciated DeWalt power tool upgrades. She did not like her chores as a child, but now recognizes the significance her family’s work ethic played on influencing her own business values and personal resilience.
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