The Drakes and Robin’s Roost

You can usually find the gregarious Doug Drake at Robin’s Roost chatting with a customer. Doug and Carol enjoy sharing their love for the area with residents and visitors alike.  Their journey to the Robin’s Roost was an unlikely one.

They were both Utah residents when they married in 1966. Doug pursued a career as a jockey and competed in the Northwest horse racing circuit. Beginning in 1968, the couple and their children vacationed on a family property in Shotgun.  After seventeen years of tracks and stables, he took a job as a car inspector for the Union Pacific Railroad. After almost two decades with the railroad, he suffered a job-ending injury.  He sought a job opportunity in the area he had grown to love.

With his skeptical wife by his side, he purchased Robin’s Roost in April of 1987. The original store was a 20 X 40 foot log building built in 1938 and located where the gas pumps are now. Within two years, they had added 10 feet onto the building and had begun selling gas to snowmobilers from two above ground tanks.

As their business grew, they constructed the current building and added the gas pumps the following year. The original building was bulldozed into a pile near the highway and made a memorable early winter bonfire.

Doug’s enthusiasm combined with Carol’s patience has made them a hardworking, successful team. Last summer the Drakes improved the store’s efficiency by adding a computer inventory/cash register system along with new checkout lanes.

They are surprised by how many customers recognize them when they travel out of state. As they describe the impromptu reunions, it’s obvious that they treasure these relationships.

It takes people with a special gift to work in a resort community. Doug and Carl Drake are two more reasons why Island Park is a great place.