Hoops Fish Market has two retail shops (second one opening in 2019) operated by Craig Hoopman Fisheries.  The Hoopman family has had 6 generatons of commercial fishing from Lake Superior with the primary catch being whitefish.  The family went all in to open Hoops Dockside this year which is a short walk down the driveway next to their retail store.  They are open during the summer and have live music on weekends from 6:30 – 10:30.  The music line up is on their Facebook page.    They have built a lovely seating area with stools along the sides facing Lake Superior.  You can watch the boats go by to the marina next door as the band plays and you munch on whitefish caught that morning.  It’s a simple menu of fried whitefish, fries and slaw in a basket.  He cooks the fish and his wife and son were taking payments and selling drinks.   It is truly a family operation.  They have wine by the glass, beer and soft drinks.   As you enter the booth is on your right and you make your order, pick up drinks and pay.  They call you when your fish is ready.  The band that night was not my particular favorite but what a stunning backdrop for a fun, casual dinner.  Coming from the heat of Texas it was particularly lovely to be able to sit and enjoy the outdoors.  I thoroughly recommend you check it out.

The fish basket fillets were breaded fish not battered and they were not serving their usual fries due to sourcing.  Whitefish is a really mild fish and these were hot and fresh.  The filets come with a container of jalapeño tartar sauce.  It was a good dipping sauce but not at all spicy.  The slaw was a nice crisp mixture without overdressing.  The fries that night were mostly on the limp side but I trust their usual is better.   They had several choices for wine by the glass which turned out to be $7 per glass.  Not sure how much the beer was but I’m sure it was reasonable.