The Small Business Spotlight: Samantha Jones of North Waco Tropical Fish

In this "Small Business Spotlight," presented by American Bank, Austin Meek of Waco Business News highlights Samantha Jones of North Waco Tropical Fish.

North Waco Tropical Fish carries over 100 different species ranging from docile to aggressive.

I love the intersection of 15th Street and Colcord Avenue. That's where Jimmy Dorrell and the Mission Waco team began acquiring buildings decades ago, incrementally developing dilapidated drug houses and liquor stores into useful commercial hubs like the Jubilee Grocery Lalo's Coffee & Pastry, Helados La Azteca, and more.

But long before Mission Waco even existed, North Waco Tropical Fish was busy bringing color to the intersection.

"My grandfather was a prisoner of war for 39 months in Korea. Whenever he came back home, they basically diagnosed him with shell shock, which is PTSD, and the doctor suggested he get a fish tank to calm down."

Some folks simply fall into business ownership. It wasn't in Jack Goodwin's plans until his Angelfish started breeding and Violet, and his wife, requested he find a bigger tank - one outside of the house. Samantha Jones is their granddaughter, the third generation running what has become the authority on fish in Central Texas.

"He had multiple tanks of angels and my grandmother finally said, 'You've got to get rid of these fish. There's too many fish.' So they started doing some trading locally and that's how we started."

That was 1962. Now nearly 60 years later, North Waco Tropical Fish is stronger than ever. By not dabbling in dogs, cats, amphibians or reptiles, customers know the staff possess special knowledge and focus that the competition can't match.

The exterior hasn’t changed much over the last six decades.

"I grew up as a little kid catching fish, listening to my grandmother talk about fish, listening to my mother talk about fish. It's just kind of like a learned hobby, I guess. And whenever you go [shop] somewhere else, you're not going to get someone who has grown up in the business and they're just reading something off a book."

Currently, Samantha stocks over 100 species. They're divided between two rooms: one for the more docile creatures, the other for the big monsters.

"Different fish have different personalities. A lot of our more community, non-aggressive fish, they're just nicer. They're not going to attack any other fish. A lot of the fish in the back room, in the cyclic room, they're going to attack everybody so you have to have another fish who can stand up to them and show them who's boss."

Certain facets of fishkeeping ebb and flow with popularity. Saltwater tanks and nanoshrimp are particularly popular right now, as are the big lunkers.

"Back in the early 80s era, everybody wanted the monster fish. That kind of tailed away but it seems to be coming back in style, I guess you would say, over the year or so."

Baylor Students Matthew Basco and Campbell Wilford are new customers to the shop.

"Well we were going to go look for fish at Petco or Petsmart and ended up finding this place on the internet. It's a cool, fun place to go to in Waco."

Basco is an Entrepreneurship major who works with startups. Wilford said they intentionally shy away from the big boxes because when they shop small, their dollar makes a difference.

"I come from a small town so I understand the importance of small businesses and I think they're a lot more important to support than big corporations."

The Covid-19 pandemic has cast new light on the benefits of supporting a local economy. Companies that source their materials locally have fewer supply-chain issues, and buying from them provides a sense of shared experience that's not easily replicable with larger chains.

Wonder what’s swimming around in that big head…

"It's fun to come see small places, especially ones I haven't been around. And I'm a senior, I've been here for like four years, and I've never heard of this place. So it's fun to come to this place and see a side of Waco that most people don't see."

As evidenced by these Baylor students, fish tanks aren't just for doctor's offices and classrooms anymore. Samantha said that families stuck indoors during the pandemic have increasingly turned to fishkeeping as an educational gateway teaching children about life cycles and responsibility.

"I'd think it's definitely more popular now that Covid has hit and so many people are at home. You know there's nothing else to do besides, 'Hey, let's go get a fish tank,' an enclosed animal. So it's definitely picked up over the last year."

The open-door policy at North Waco Tropical Fish that gives customers free water testing and friendly consultation makes fish ownership easy for anyone.

"Especially if you listen to us, kinda what goes together and what to do. We always test water for free and are willing to educate anyone who is willing to learn."

This "Small Business Spotlight,” co-produced by Waco Business News and KWBU, first aired on Friday, March 5, 2021, on Episode 99 of Downtown Depot on 103.3 KWBU-FM Waco.