ROSENBERG — For 50-plus years, Kroll’s Marine has been a staple of the Rosenberg community at 2409 Ave. M. But shortly the business will only be fond memories.
The supply chain crisis and health issues were the reasons given by owners Susan and Charlie Euton on why the store business will be no more in a short while.
“COVID started it and we had two boat lines with us, one was Alweld which had been with us since the ‘80s and Alweld decided they couldn’t satisfy all of their dealers,” Susan said. “They would sell to their top-tier dealers. That cut us out of receiving. Last year, they gave us five boats and this year, they didn’t send a price list.”
The other boating line partner was Alumacraft Boat Co. which decided to close its Arkansas plant and discontinued welded boats — much of Kroll’s inventory.
“If you can’t sell boats, that makes the boating business rather unprofitable,” Susan said.
The Eutons’ attachment to the store goes further than just business.
As a teenager, Charlie was brought in from Refugio to work at Kroll’s when Susan’s father ran the store.
The two met, hit it off and as Susan says, “the rest was history.”
“Charlie’s uncle was working with an oil company that my father was working with,” Susan said. “We needed a mechanic at the time and his uncle recommended him and sent Charlie to Rosenberg. It was in the summertime so I was back home from college and my dad would bring him back to the house to eat lunch. We got to know each other and well, here we are.”
The Eutons shared bittersweet emotions about their beloved boating supply and maintenance store being no more but were proud of the impact the store had on some residents.
The fact that only 25% of small businesses make it to 15 years or more — per data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics — makes the Eutons proud of what they accomplished.
“We have dad, sons and then grandsons for a lot of customers,” Susan said. “We treated everyone fairly, honestly and genuinely cared about our customers.”
Charlie hopes that Kroll’s legacy will remain a fixture in its community.
“I want people to say, ‘I remember Kroll’s; they helped fix my boat,’” Charlie said. “I want adults coming here and saying they remember us working on their dad’s or grandpa’s boat. I think it’s great that just the two of us were able to do all of this. We took this shop from a very small boat shop to what it is now.”
The Eutons do not know what the future holds for them, but Susan says, “It’s in the Lord’s hands.”
Charlie is willing to give retirement a shot but believes he will miss working on boats and interacting with customers.
“I’m afraid I’m going to miss it because this has been my life, working on boats,” Charlie said. “I associate with people. I love talking to them and talking over their problems and that will end.”
There was no official closing date given, but the store is open in hopes of selling its remaining inventory.
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