SkipperBud’s Expands

SkipperBud’s has bought an antique mall to create a boat service center in Waterford Township, Mich.

The company closed on the former Great Midwestern Antique3 Emporium on three acres in Oakland County on May 20.

The property has 185 feet of access on Dixie Highway, and sits on three acres. The buildings have nearly 7,000 square feet of indoor space that will be remodeled to accommodate boat service and rigging.

The remaining property is gated and fenced and will be used as a boat storage facility. The facility will be operational for this upcoming fall winterization and storage season.

“We tried buying this property last fall and missed out,” said SkipperBud’s vice president Mark Ellerbrock in a statement. “The property went on the market again in April, [but] due to covid-19, the winning bid from last fall fell apart. We quickly moved on contracting and closing on the property.”

SkipperBud’s is also entering phase two of its Antioch, Ill., expansion at SkipperBud’s Boating Super Center.

SkipperBud’s purchased the Sequoit Harbor Marina and an additional seven acres on State Route 173 in 2016. Phase I expansion including building three 12,000-square-foot storage warehouses in 2017.

Last week, the team broke ground on a 16,000-square-foot sales warehouse and showroom to complement its existing showroom and pro shop of nearly 14,000 square feet — more than doubling SkipperBud’s Antioch new boat display footprint, the company said in a separate statement.”