In quaint downtown Manistique, wood-shingled 206 S. Cedar St. is nestled between a masonic lodge and Wheat’s Pub. Within is the sporting goods store founded at the same location by Ted Hentschell Sr. 75 years ago, though the building is quite a bit older. The area was rebuilt after a fire destroyed 22 businesses in 1893.

Hentschell Sr. began Top O’ Lake as a gift shop and sporting goods store. When he retired in 1993, his son, Ted Hentschell Jr., purchased the store.

It truly was a family effort to run the shop, as Hentschell Jr.’s siblings — Bonnie, Barb, Nancy, Tammy and Frank — along with their mother, Doris, all worked there, according to the Pioneer Tribune.

Enter the Casteels.

A store for hunting, fishing and camping gear is found at 206 S. Cedar St. in Manistique. The store has been in operation since 1951. (Courtesy photo)

Robert Casteel Jr. grew up in Garden and moved to Manistique as a teenager. He got a job at Bichler Concrete and Gravel in Escanaba and moved to Wells about two years ago.

Casteel Jr.’s son and daughter happen to be the grandchildren of Hentschell Jr. and his wife, Desiree. Ted and Desiree also owned the Dairy Kream in Manistique until selling it recently to Rob and Fawn Freeborn.

When the 13-year-old girl found out last year that her grandparents were looking to sell Top O’ Lake, she “begged me to buy it,” Casteel Jr. said.

“She eventually wants to own it someday, my daughter,” Casteel Jr. said. “I mean, she might change her plans in the future.”

Casteel Jr. purchased the store along with his father, Robert Casteel Sr., from the Hentschells in October 2025. The elder man is co-owner but a silent partner, Casteel Jr. explained.

Firearms are a recent addition to the inventory at Top O' Lake Sport Shop. (Courtesy photo)

Now, Casteel Jr.’s kids can say that both their maternal and paternal grandparents owned the store their great-grandfather started.

It was a smooth transition, and Casteel Jr. said that the Hentschells worked in the store alongside him to show him the ropes.

“They were here every day, and then they, kind of, dwindled off after two weeks. But if I called them right now and I needed them to come in here and help me, they would. So they have been awesome teachers,” Casteel Jr. said.

As it was under Hentschell Jr., Top O’ Lake remains a sport shop with a hunting and fishing focus.

In the store’s early days, the current owner believes, Hentschell Sr. carried different sporting good materials, “because I know I’ve had lots of old timers tell me he used to have ice skates in here, even,” Casteel Jr. said. “I think we just filled the aisles with more hunting (and) fishing.”

He’s brought in a couple new products, and purchases stock from Michigan suppliers when possible. Gear sold at Top O’ Lake comes from Swedish Pimple in Gladstone, Bay de Loc Lure in Gladstone, Bloop Bead in Muskegon and more.

Not quite three weeks ago, a sizeable development came to the Manistique store when Casteel Jr. secured a federal firearms license (FLL) and added guns to the inventory.

Camping gear is also sold at Top O’ Lake, as are steel-toed boots. The latter is to serve local workers, Casteel Jr. said.

“Most companies give you a boot allowance, and I’ve had a few people tell me … they’d have to drive all the wasy to Escanaba,” he reported.

Every time someone comes in and asks about something not currently carried, Casteel Jr. said, he writes it down and does his best to order the requested materials for his customers.

Business changes by the season at stores like Top O’ Lake. Though Casteel Jr. hasn’t yet worked a summer at the store, he saw the tail end of last year’s tourist season, experienced a hunting season rush, saw changes in fishing habits in the winter, and looks forward to this year’s warmer months.

As an angler himself, Casteel Jr. enjoys talking with customers about their fishing habits.

“I’ve had tons of people tell me their secrets … I guess that’s the best part about going in a sport and bait shop. I could get everybody’s secret spots.”

Some people ask him not to tell, and Casteel Jr. isn’t looking to spoil anything for anyone. He’s happy to learn about what people use.

“That’s a nice thing about fishing. Everyone wants to use a different lure or a different a different hook. They everyone has their own way of doing it,” he remarked.

It was hard at first, he said, to figure out what to carry, but is appreciative for feedback and suggestions. He is also grateful for recommendations from sales reps who are able to tell him what products are flying off the shelves elsewhere — and especially the word of one particular rep at Great Lakes Tackle who is an avid and enthusiastic fisherman.

What the future will bring to Top O’ Lake Sport Shop is yet to be seen.

“I don’t know what else I will end up adding, Casteel Jr. said. “I’ve owned it since October, and I’m still thinking of what to throw in here.”

Curious shoppers may find the Manistique store open for business year-round. Hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.