Justin does say that the pandemic did affect them, especially in the first three months when they couldn’t be open. “We went through most of our savings to keep our staff employed,” he says. However, that summer they became busier than they had ever been because of the onslaught of new homeowners that moved to Lake Tahoe. “We had a killer summer with everyone remote working, and the community helped us a lot,” he says. Then last December of 2021, Justin had the opportunity to buy a space in the Galena Junction Shopping Center. He opened a second MoFo’s and manages it with his sister, Melissa Negrillo. He says that they work together well and have the same ideas as to how most efficiently run the businesses. Justin is also now married, and his wife Keisha is intricately involved. Negrillo has two young children and when asked if he thinks they will ever take over MoFo’s, Justin replies, “We grew up in the restaurant, but her kids are a little too rambunctious so they’re never in there.
Marelich Family “[The last few years] have gone very well. We had some hiccups because of the pandemic but it didn’t hurt us too much because people still found a way to boat,” Mark says about what’s been going on with the business in the last couple of years.
“I’m sure that will change when they get older,” he smiles. However, the labor shortage was tough for Incline Boat Storage, as they were down two people this past summer which is a lot for a seasonal job. Luckily, Incline Boat Storage’s mechanics have been with the business for 5-6 years, the yard crew have been there an average of 8-9 years, and the boat launchers have been with Incline Boat Storage for at least three years.
Marelich Family
“We’re fortunate for the employees we do have, who’ve stayed with us for a long time. Having good employeesthat’s what makes the business work,” Mark says. He credits his stellar employee retention rate to giving them autonomy in their jobs, empowering them to make their own decisions.
Incline Boat Storage keeps around 200 customers, INCLINE BOAT although the passing of the newest Ordinance 7 last summer also impacted this family STORAGE WITH MARK restriction business. “We had a small percentage of boat storage MARELICH owners who did not live in Incline and were able to
WWW.INCLINEBOATSTORAGE.COM
David and Susan Marelich launched Incline Boat Storage in 1989 and their son Mark took over its operations in 2015. However, his parents are still very much involved in the business- Susan still comes in and helps with the financials and his dad pops in occasionally, to give Mark advice and/or to help him work through any issues.
use the boat ramp as our guests. But the Ordinance 7 restriction said that nonresidents couldn’t launch from Incline anymore, so a few of them sold their boats and left the area. The whole point of the Ordinance 7 revision was to reduce impact to the beaches, but our customers never used the beaches, they were out on the water.”
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