Houston’s Evans Sports is once again locally owned. In a deal finalized Monday, Aug. 19, Jeff and Jennifer Gabel became the new owners of Houston’s Evans Sports.
The manufacturing businesses that produces popular products related to hunting, shooting and outdoor activities has been purchased by its long-time manager, Jeff Gabel, and his wife, Jennifer.
Since April 1995, Evans Sports had been owned by Ellett Brothers LLC, a division of United Sporting Companies of Chapin, S.C. The Gabels had been in negotiations to buy the firm for a year, and the deal was finalized Aug. 19.
“It’s a relief,” Jeff said. “We’ve been ready to go and needing to hire people, and we’ve just kind of been in a holding pattern until the paperwork was all done.”
Original owner Clydie “Shorty” Evans founded Evans Sports in the early 1980s under the name, Shorty Evans Manufacturing. One of the company’s primary products in its early stages was die-cast aluminum propellers for trolling motors.
As things progressed, Evans Sports moved into a building at U.S. 63 and Highway B, and Evans’ son, Clydie “Bud” Evans Jr., bought the company in 1989.
Now located west of U.S. 63 on South Industrial Drive, the company employs about 25 people and occupies three buildings and about 52,000 square feet of space. It produces dozens of varieties of wooden ammunition boxes, several types of “sports buckets” (a combination of cooler and stool made from a container similar to a 5-gallon paint bucket) and racks for guns and fishing rods.
Evans Sports products are sold online at Amazon.com and at retail stores including Walmart, Academy Sports and Tractor Supply Co. The company also has accounts in Canada and overseas, and is working to partner with Walmart Canada.
Jeff Gabel has been with Evans Sports since 1989 and became manager in 1998, while Jennifer has worked with the company since 1993. They’re operating Evans Sports as a subsidiary of Double G Holdings LLC.
“Everyone has been very supportive of us trying to do this from the get-go,” Jennifer said.
“The whole community seems to be behind this, especially the workers,” Jeff said. “They feel a lot more comfortable knowing the company is controlled here and not by people they’ll probably never meet.”
The Gabels said City of Houston economic development director Rob Harrington has been giving them tips on how to find an outlet for some of the company’s byproducts and waste, like sawdust and scrap wood. Harrington sees the change at Evans Sports as a significant boost to the community.
“I’m very excited to have Evans Sports back in the hands of such an amazing local couple,” he said. “I have been working with Jeff and Jennifer for the last several months and I’m thrilled that they have finally been able to purchase the company. I see so much growth opportunity for the company in the years to come and I’m thankful to be able to work with them to create this growth for their company and the community.”
Evans Sports has for years done business with several other local companies to obtain various materials, and has even contracted with Opportunity Sheltered Workshops for temporary help during periods of being short-handed.
“We’ve worked with OSI for about 30 years,” Jennifer said.
“They’ve been a life-saver more than once,” Jeff said.
The Gabels said business this year is a bit better than in 2018.
“This is the best time for us to be buying the company because the fourth quarter is always our biggest and most profitable,” Jeff said. “It’s interesting that this is when we’re getting a new start, but we’re really glad to be moving forward again.”
Wooden ammo boxes are assembled at Evans Sports in Houston.
More information about Evans Sports, including a catalog of available products, is available online at www.evanssports.com. To inquire about employment, call 417-967-2804 or stop by the company’s office during business hours.