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When 800 people from a 175-mile radius showed up for an open house in 2002, the Henrekins saw an opportunity to turn their hobby into an agricultural tourism business. They consulted with local business groups and networked with other agritourism farmers. Two advantages jumped out for them: There were no other tourist farms in Illinois with elk, and they were 90 miles west of Chicago and 45 miles east of the Quad Cities.
The first step was creating a business plan for Sandy Pine Elk Farm. Dad Jim, son J.C. and his wife, LaMonica, and son Matt and his wife, Melissa, formed an S-corporation with each of them as equal shareholders. They hired a business consultant to help develop a budget and write up a business plan.
The plan identified the need to create a central spot for selling tickets, concessions, and retail items. The Henrekins built an 1,800-square-foot store with the family doing most of the construction. Jim financed the $80,000 building and rents it to the corporation. They took out loans for inventory and equipment.
The store, which opened in 2004, sells frozen elk meat, homemade food, a variety of gifts, and furniture made from Sandy Pine's elk antlers.
Along with the store and tours of the elk habitat, Sandy Pine offers activities from July through December, including corn and soybean mazes, a pumpkin patch, a straw climbing mountain, pedal tractor races, horse-drawn wagon rides, bonfires by Indian tepees, fall festivals, school outings, bus trips, outdoor competitions, and corporate retreats.
In the winter, Christmas trees are sold. "It has just mushroomed," says Jim.
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