09/02/2026
Yes, the rumors are true. ❤️
Some of you may have already seen the post from the auction company announcing the sale of Outcrop and ProTrade, and we wanted you to hear it directly from us as well.
After months of careful consideration, we have made the decision that it’s time to close this chapter and open a new one.
For the last six years, we have absolutely poured ourselves into ProTrade. We’ve worked long days, late nights, weekends and everything in between. We have literally put our blood, sweat and tears into building this business and making it what it is today. And we are incredibly proud of what we built.
We also want to make one thing very clear: this decision is not because business is bad or because our customers stopped showing up. Quite the opposite. Our business remains strong, and changes in the local retail landscape or increased competition did not drive this decision. This is a personal decision about what we want the next chapter of our lives to look like.
And that is actually one of the things that made this decision so incredibly hard.
We cannot tell you how many times someone has walked through our doors and said, “We’re so glad you’re here.” We hear it all the time, and those words have meant more to us than you probably realize.
We have the absolute best customers. Some of you have supported us since the very beginning. Some drive from surrounding counties, and we even have customers from outside Kentucky who make it a point to stop at ProTrade whenever they are in the area. You’ve shopped with us, sent your friends and family to us, shared our posts, trusted our recommendations and, somewhere along the way, so many of you became our friends.
Knowing how much people genuinely enjoy our store and appreciate having ProTrade here made the decision to sell that much harder.
We’ve spent six years grinding, working hard and burning it at both ends to build something great. We’re proud of that, but we also realized that it’s okay to want something different now. We’re ready for new challenges, and instead of being afraid of change, we’re choosing to embrace it.
ProTrade has become so much more than a store to us. We’ve built an amazing clientele, made friendships that we know will last long beyond these four walls, and discovered a genuine passion for grilling, cooking and simply bringing people together.
And we truly believe what we have built is an incredible opportunity for someone else.
Six years of hard work have already gone into building the customer base, relationships, reputation and foundation of this business. Someone has the opportunity to step in, continue what we started and take it to the next level. More than anything, we hope whoever takes the reins will continue the legacy and take care of the customers who have taken such good care of us.
And just to be clear…our doors are NOT closed. We are still here and we are still open for business! ❤️
The business being offered for sale does not mean ProTrade has shut down. Until we tell you otherwise, you can still walk through our doors, shop with us, ask us a million questions, talk grilling and let us help you just like you always have. We hope you’ll continue supporting us through this transition just as you have for the last six years.
As for us… what’s next?
We don’t exactly know yet and for once, we’re okay with that.
We have several things in the works, lots of ideas and some new opportunities we’re exploring. We’re ready for new challenges and excited to see where this next chapter takes us. We’re not sure yet exactly how all of those ideas are going to pan out, but when we know, you’ll know.
One thing this past year has taught us is that life is short, things can change quickly, and sometimes you have to be willing to make a change yourself, even when it’s scary. Change can be good.
So no, this isn’t goodbye. We’re still here. Our doors are still open. And there’s still more of the ProTrade story to come.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Thank you for supporting a little local, family-owned business. Thank you for believing in us. Thank you for walking through our doors over and over again. Thank you for becoming our friends and for being part of these incredible six years.
We will never forget it.
Here’s to whatever comes next. ❤️🥂
