Crook & Crook is a name that just about any veteran South Florida fisherman or boater recognizes with very little prompting. And, the slogan "We don't aim to live up to our name" has brought a smile to many a face.

K. C. Crook is owner of Crook & Crook Marine and Fishing Supplies.

The venerable marine hardware and fishing tackle operation began in 1958 as a little hardware store on Bird Avenue off SW 27th Avenue, the brainchild of a man and woman who moved to Coconut Grove from Massachusetts with a 1-year-old son less than a year earlier.

"When my parents first moved down here, we lived on a 34-foot Matthews at Pier Five in Dinner Key," recalled K. C. Crook, the second-generation owner of Crook & Crook. "They were moonlighting, painting the interior and exterior of boats, while they started the hardware store. They realized that selling more marine hardware, paints and related stuff made more sense [than selling normal hardware] since they were located so close to the marine community."

Crook said his mother, Ellie, taught English at Everglades School for Girls in the early years to help sustain the family, while his father, Bill, worked to keep the business alive.

All went well, he recalls, and the tackle store was opened at the S. Dixie Highway (US 1) and 27th Avenue location in 1965 independent of the marine hardware operation.

Crook, who resides in Pinecrest with wife, Holly, and daughters, Jessica, 20, Kasandra, 16, and son, Nicolas, 14, remembers that there were some shaky moments for the business when his parents divorced in 1974. The hardware store went to Ellie and Bill took the fishing tackle side of the operation.

"Unfortunately, the continuity of the business wasn't there from 1975 to 1985," Crook recalled. "There was a 10-year period where it just existed."

Crook's father died in 1977 and he decided to get involved with the fishing tackle business out of necessity. Then, in 1985, his mother passed away and he was left with the hardware end of the business.

"That year, I took over completely," he recalled. "There were some severe financial problems and we went through a bankruptcy reorganization of the company. We consolidated a couple of locations that had been opened and I added on to the Sunoco gas station property that was here (the present location at 2795 SW 27 Avenue) and incorporated a more contemporary facility.

"We closed the store and sold the property on Bird Avenue, then moved Crook and Crook here in 1986," he continued. "Business has been steadily growing ever since."

Crook said the company was able to pay off all of its creditors and came out of bankruptcy in four years.

"So, this is sort of the second life of Crook & Crook and we're doing real well," he said with obvious satisfaction. "We paid off everybody and got a complete discharge. Not too many companies successfully do a Chapter 11. But, we did it."

Today, Crook & Crook continues to offer a broad selection of marine hardware and supplies, as well as an extensive supply of fishing tackle, with everything from screws and tournament fishing tackle, to fiberglass cloth and marine electronics.

"We probably have the most diverse and complete inventory [of marine hardware and fishing tackle] of anybody in South Florida," Crook said. "Our marine supply is very competitive in price and selection with the big discount stores. Our fishing tackle selection is very competitive with the fishing-tackle specific oriented store and is far superior to the discount chains.

"We also service the bridge fisherman with the $14.95 combo fishing rod and reel as well as put $600 trolling outfits on large offshore fishing boats. Very few places do the extremes and cater to such a wide variety of clientele."

Crook said the tone of the operation is centered more on a personal level than it once was.

"We offer more of a client relationship," he said. "Our sales people treat customers very individually and personally, versus the department store attitude. And, I have employees that have been here as long as 13 years. We don't have turnover in our staff."

Like the sign says, at Crook & Crook, they don't aim to live up to their name.

For more information, call 305-854-0005.