Tracy Frank - 03/01/2011


Business profile Tubs of Fun, The Family Recreation Superstore

•  Troy Derheim
•  4021 Main Ave., Fargo
• Hours: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sunday by appointment
• Contact: (701) 234-0705
• Online: http://tubsoffun.com

Troy Derheim never intended to be a leader in the hot tub industry when he started his Fargo business, Tubs of Fun, as a 21-year-old college student. Twenty years later, his business is thriving and receiving national recognition.

Derheim started out as a home-based business. He bought a hot tub and rented it to friends after he tried to rent a hot tub for a party and was treated rudely, he said. He did small weekend rentals and eventually opened a hot tub retail store on Main Avenue. “What grew the business was we offer 24-hour customer service,” Derheim said. “We’re the only company I know of in the industry that is there for our customers 24/7.” His retail store moved a few times, most recently from 2714 Main Ave. to 4021 Main Ave. in November.

Derheim also expanded his product line to include billiards tables and gaming equipment when he bought Family Recreation four years ago. He’s also now in the business of roller derby supplies after his most recent move, which nearly doubled his previous store’s size. “We wanted to incorporate anything that has to do with family and fun,” Derheim said. Tubs of Fun, The Family Recreation Superstore, is a full-service pool and spa center.

The business offers a wide range of products, from hot tubs, pools and spas to gazebos, solariums, barbecues and fire pits. In 2008, Tubs of Fun opened a Grand Forks store. Derheim went to school for construction management and engineering, and for the past 12 years, Tubs of Fun has been a pool designer and contractor. “That’s really where our specialty is and where we really shine is that we design and build in-ground pools for residential, commercial, water features, ponds, different things like that,” Derheim said.

Pete and Malinda Lindstrom of rural Amenia, N.D., had Tubs of Fun install a pool in their yard about five years ago. “We’ve had really good luck with them and enjoy our pool,” Malinda Lindstrom said.

Last May, Tubs of Fun was inducted into the AQUA 100 Hall of Fame, compiled by AQUA, a business magazine for spa and pool professionals. The economy has hurt businesses like Tubs of Fun. Derheim said he lost probably 20 to 30 percent of spa sales, and the industry as a whole is down 60 percent. But to sustain itself, Tubs of Fun built on its strong customer relationships and pushed spending family time together by encouraging customers to install a hot tub or pool table in their home instead of taking an expensive vacation, he said. “I knew people were still going to spend some money. We had to make sure that if they were going to do that, we were going to be the company of choice,” Derheim said.