DeHarts Auke Bay Store is pictured on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)

DeHarts Auke Bay Store is pictured on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)

Amid construction, owner puts DeHarts up for sale

As Auke Bay grows, a longtime business may soon change hands

Auke Bay is changing, and with it, so will DeHarts Auke Bay Store.

The convenience store and bait shop — a staple for boaters and residents out the road — is up for sale for $2,675,000. Current owner Dan Hickok told the Empire that he’s not in a hurry to sell the place, but the business has suffered recently due to road construction in the area.

“With the struggle of the past five years I just put it on the market kind of deal, with no desperation whatsoever. It’s been struggling the past five years but there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” Hickok said.

Major road reconstruction from Fritz Cove Road to Seaview Avenue has slowed traffic in the area in recent years. Last summer, vehicles sometimes had to wait 10 or 15 minutes to share one-lane access on Glacier Highway. The building of a roundabout next to DeHarts before that also limited access to the store.

All the construction has hurt business, Hickok said, by about 20 percent. The store depends on drop in customers — the fisherman who needs a bait or tackle before departing from nearby Auke Bay, the customer who needs to gas up before heading out the road.

Hickok said dealing with construction have been tough.

“We almost threw up our arms and said enough already,” he said.

If somebody doesn’t buy the store, at least he’s past the trial and error of dealing with road construction immediately next to the building, he said.

Auke Bay is in the middle of a major redesign aimed to accommodate growth in recreation, commerce, housing and marine transportation in the area. After months of public planning, the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly adopted the Auke Bay Area Plan in 2015.

Parts of the plan have already been put in place, like the expanded parking at Don D. Statter Memorial Harbor, the roundabout and redone portions of Glacier Highway.

Caldwell Banker’s Errol Champion, the realtor representing the sale of DeHarts, said the property is attractive because of its location.

“If you forgot that quart of milk or that six pack of beer, DeHarts is where you’re going to get it,” Champion said.

DeHarts was built in the 1950s by Jim and Jane DeHart. Hickok has owned the store for 11 years.


• Contact reporter Kevin Gullufsen at 523-2228 and kgullufsen@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @KevinGullufsen.


More in News

Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File
The Aurora Borealis glows over the Mendenhall Glacier in 2014.
Aurora Forecast

Forecasts from the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute for the week of March. 19

The FBI Anchorage Field Office is seeking information about this man in relation to a Wednesday bank robbery in Anchorage, the agency announced Thursday afternoon. Anyone with information regarding the bank robbery can contact the FBI Anchorage Field Office at 907-276-4441 or tips.fbi.gov. Tips can be submitted anonymously.  (FBI)
FBI seeks info in Anchorage bank robbery

The robbery took place at 1:24 p.m. on Wednesday.

Kevin Maier
Sustainable Alaska: Climate stories, climate futures

The UAS Sustainability Committee is hosting a series of public events in April…

Reps. Tom McKay, R-Anchorage, and Andi Story, D-Juneau, offering competing amendments to a bill increasing the per-student funding formula for public schools by $1,250 during a House Education Committee meeting Wednesday morning. McKay’s proposal to lower the increase to $150 was defeated. Story’s proposal to implement an increase during the next two years was approved, after her proposed amounts totalling about $1,500 were reduced to $800.
Battle lines for education funding boost get clearer

$800 increase over two years OKd by House committee, Senate proposing $1,348 two-year increase

A call for a joint session of the Alaska State Legislature to cast a vote that would reject recently-approved salary increases for legislators and top executive branch officials is made by State House Speaker Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, during a press conference Tuesday. Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, rejected the joint session in a letter to Tilton on Wednesday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
House efforts to nix legislative pay raises hit Senate roadblock

Call for a joint session rejected by upper chamber, bills to overturn pay hikes may lack support

A simulated photo shows the tailings stack and other features of Hecla Greens Creek Mine under the most aggressive of four alternatives for expanding the mine in an environmental impact assessment published Thursday by the U.S Forest Service. The tailings stack is modestly to drastically smaller in the other alternatives. The public comment period for the study is from March 24 to May 8. (U.S. Forest Service)
New study digs into alternatives for Greens Creek Mine expansion

Public comment starts Friday on four options that could extend mine’s life up to 40 years

This image shows the Juneau Lions Club Gold Medal Basketball Tournament's logo. The club is looking for submissions of logos for the historic tournament's 75th anniversary. The winning artist will receive a $250 prize. (Screenshot)
Take your shot at a Gold Medal logo

Upcoming milestone prompts call for art.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Thursday, March 23, 2023

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

The Juneau School Board recently announced the three finalists for the district’s superintendent position: Frank Hauser, Carlee Simon and Thom Peck. The district is hosting a public forum from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, March 27 at Thunder Mountain High School for students, parents and staff to meet the three candidates. Additionally, the trio will be interviewed by the school board on Tuesday, March 28. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
School district announces finalists for superintendent post

Public forum and interviews scheduled for next week.

Most Read