ILWACO — A historic fixture along the Port of Ilwaco waterfront is undergoing a technological transformation from the inside out under new ownership.
Sportsmen’s Canning, previously Sportsmen’s Cannery under former owners Tina and Kevin Ward, was purchased by Glenn and Hillary Trusty, who are leading an ambitious overhaul of the business, located at 211 Howerton Ave. Their ultimate goal is ramping up a salmon and tuna canning production facility while providing a year-around operation.
Started in 1943
The U.S. was in the midst of World War II when Roseanne and Lefty Leavers first opened the cannery in 1943, operating it until sold to the Brophy family in 1978.
A teenage Tina Ward began working for the business in 1982, working summers through junior high and high school, before officially becoming owner in 2001 alongside her husband, Kevin.
The Wards officially sold the business to the Trustys earlier this year, who purchased the roughly 3,400 square-foot Ilwaco building for $300,000 in late February, according to Taxsifter.
The Sportsmen’s Cannery location at 1215 35th street in Seaview wasn’t included in the sale.
Ambitious overhaul
The current cannery overhaul is the most recent undertaking for the Trustys, who first rehabilitated Fun Beach Go-Kart Speedway in 2018, then Chico’s Pizza in 2022, followed by The Breakfast Club (formerly Laurie’s Homestead Breakfast) in 2024. They own Dr. Roof in Long Beach.
“Typically, I restore the building and equipment — and get the business up and running,” said owner Glenn Trusty, 57, during a tour of the cannery layout on Wednesday, April 2.
“It’s about bringing back things in the community that I feel belong in the community, whether it’s the go-kart track, Chico’s Pizza or the breakfast place. It’s another opportunity for me to keep something going that’s super important.”
Trusty is anticipating setting up the new equipment as it arrives in the coming weeks and potentially opening in May, barring any delays.
The business will feature the familiar front retail space, with separate rooms in the back for cleaning, canning, smoking, freezing and vacuum-sealing catch.
Among the biggest changes will be an updated automated canning system, allowing the cannery increased productivity.
“This room will look totally different with all the new, state-of-the-art equipment in here,” Trusty said. “In the past, it was one can at a time by hand. Whereas now, this is an automated system that can do 25-30 cans a minute. The productivity level is going to be massive.”
More jobs
The increased cannery production will require more workers, with the business tentatively planning to hire between 10 to 18 staff, including butchers, vacuum packers, front retail, canning and smoking operations.
“We’re going to employ more people running this cannery,” Trusty said, adding that they will be exploring different options to extend staff beyond seasonal positions, including expanding cold storage to foster more ‘consistent’ employment.
“That’s a challenge we know we’re faced with, but we think we store enough product to keep us busy through the winter time.”
“Our big vision is two crews — a day shift and a night shift. But we don’t know how this is going to play out, we’re still new to this. We’re re-developing something that was already the way that it was for 60 years.”
The goal, Trusty said, is to make the cannery “more sanitary, productive and efficient.”
“We’re ramping this thing up in a way that’s never been designed. You would have to go way back to the Bumble Bee, Pillar Rock, McGowan days in the 20th century]. And even then, it was a very slow and labor-intensive process,” he said.
“It will still be labor intensive, but we’re adding technology to the process to reduce the labor footprint, while increasing the volume to ship out on a more global level. We’re now using the technology that Bumble Bee is using, though they can produce about 400 cans per minute at their headquarters.”
The automated process at the Ilwaco cannery will include the can sealing, labeling and coding “to track the can’.”
New charter office coming
A new ‘high-end’ charter office will soon be taking reservations at the cannery location.
“We’re also going to run a charter office out of here,” Trusty said regarding Ilwaco-based Gambler Charter, owned by Jed Stout, featuring the F/V Gambler, a custom built 2025 42-foot North River Sounder with triple 350 horsepower Yamaha outboards, and the F/V Outlaw, a 41-foot North River Sounder.
“They’re going to be very fast and efficient.”
Most notably, the vessels will utilize SeaKeeper gyroscopic boat roll stabilization, a space-inspired system the claims to transform the boating experience ‘by eliminating up to 70% of underway pitch and 95% of the boat roll’, or side-to-side rocking by waves.
“It will provide a much different experience for the guests, especially going out and back in,” Trusty said.
“They’re the most state-of-the-art fishing boat you can put in the water, with a lot of high-end technology.”
The charter will offer trips for tuna, salmon, halibut, lingcod, rockfish and crab, when in season.
The cannery will also soon install a new 10-ton ice machine, capable of providing ice for the fleet.
“With [Ilwaco] Landing burning down, there’s no more ice,” Trusty said.
“It’s about providing a service to help support our port and charter community. This business has been a staple for so many years, for us to see it go away would have been a heartbreak for this community. My hat’s off to the people that founded it and Tina [Ward] for operating it for so many years, and now giving me the opportunity.”