For anyone who enjoys great seafood, a large black trailer with a beefy truck parked nearby might be a welcome sight. 

Drop the ramp, open the French doors and suddenly a little piece of Alaska has arrived in town. That's the business model behind Peeler's Wild Alaska Seafood, owned and operated by Max Peeler of Kalispell. 

Rather than maintaining traditional retail stores, Peeler takes his seafood on the road, serving more than 100 towns across Montana, Idaho, North Dakota and Wyoming, with plans to expand into Washington. The operation currently has six mobile units, large cargo trailers pulled by heavy-duty trucks that set up in visible locations and offer customers a selection of freshly frozen Alaska seafood. 

The company also has a manager in Bozeman, where the business first got its start, and has recently sold its first franchise to a friend and former employee in Utah.

But Peeler's connection to the seafood business goes back much further than 2017, when he launched the company. He grew up in Petersburg, a small fishing community in southeast Alaska, and started fishing alongside his father when he was just seven years old. 

“I grew up on the boats and my dad was a commercial fisherman for fifty-plus years,” Peeler shared. “It was our way of life. My mom would be at home taking care of my six siblings, while I was with my dad working day and night. But that's life in Petersburg, and why I have such a deep love for my friends, family, fisheries, and communities across Alaska.”

Eventually, Peeler wanted to build a business that would allow him to stay connected to his Alaska roots while spending more time at home. He and his wife now have four children. 

“I wanted more control over my life and business, so talking it over with my wife, this idea developed so I can still keep close to my foundations yet be home more with the family. It gives me the flexibility, but also selling fish this way is more efficient and gives people higher quality fish by having my hands on the entire process.” 

Although Peeler no longer works aboard fishing boats, he still has a few drivers who return to Alaska for several months each year to work during the fishing seasons. They apparently enjoy the experience, even if it isn't exactly a relaxing getaway. 

“A really hardworking, uncomfortable vacation for them,” Peeler joked.

Getting seafood from an Alaska fishing boat to a customer's dinner table involves considerably more than loading a truck. The fish and shellfish are caught, processed and cut before being blast-frozen. From there, the products are shipped to cold storage facilities, eventually loaded into the mobile units and transported to communities throughout the five-state service area. 

It is a complicated operation with plenty of moving parts, and timing is critical. Peeler knows the boat captains personally. Having grown up alongside many of them in Petersburg, he has maintained those relationships throughout the years. 

“Everyone is connected in fishing in one little town like Petersburg, so we work tightly as a group.” 

He describes commercial fishermen as a hardworking breed who don't make excuses. When a problem develops, they tackle it head-on because an interruption anywhere along the line can affect the entire process. That close-knit network also helps Peeler maintain quality and support the people who supply his business. 

Peeler's Wild Alaska Seafood is an important customer for commercial fishermen in southeast Alaska, and he takes pride in helping support the communities where he grew up. 

“We prioritize paying our commercial fishermen more fairly and can still get our customers the quality product they deserve. It's more work, but it's what our fisheries and industry need.”

Another advantage of the operation is that Peeler avoids the overhead of traditional storefronts. Rent, utilities and other expenses associated with brick-and-mortar locations can quickly eat into a business's bottom line. His mobile approach allows him to pay more attention to the seafood and the people who catch it. 

He also believes customers benefit from knowing exactly how their seafood has been handled. Seafood purchased at a grocery store may have a history of thawing and refreezing before it reaches the shopping cart. Even the retailer may not know its complete past. 

Peeler's products, on the other hand, are frozen shortly after processing and remain frozen until the customer is ready to thaw, prepare and devour them.

With six mobile units traveling across several states, customers need to know where to find them. Peeler has made that part easy with a text notification system. Customers who sign up receive a message at 6:30 p.m. the evening before a scheduled visit. The text includes the location, arrival time and any specials or new products that have come in. This gives them first crack at it, Peeler said. The weekly schedule is also posted on the website each Sunday and shared through social media. 

Keeping customers informed is important, particularly when the trucks cover so much territory.

The mobile seafood operation has been visiting Sanders County, including Thompson Falls and Plains, since around 2000, while stops along the I-90 corridor are a more recent addition. He is already familiar with the area, as Frenchtown has been a good market for the business. 

The trucks have traveled Montana Highway 135 to St. Regis on their way to Kellogg, St. Maries and Avery, Idaho. Taylor Blume handles the Mineral County stops about every three weeks.

 When he isn't driving for Peeler's, Blume heads back to Alaska during the peak season to gillnet sockeye salmon in Bristol Bay, as it’s a deep love and at 24 years old, he’s young enough to endure the brutality of long hours and hard physical labor. 

Last Wednesday, Blume had already made a stop in St. Regis before setting up in Superior at the corner of River Street and Second Avenue. After three hours, he headed to Frenchtown before returning to Kalispell. Pointing to the seafood menu displayed on the trailer, Blume explained where some of the selections originate.

“The Dungeness crabs are common along the California, Oregon and Washington coastlines, but these are caught in southeast Alaska. Same with the snow crab legs, yet there is a very big fishery for those in the Aleutian chain. All of the different types of shrimp are from along the panhandle. Everything except the Maine lobsters is from Alaska, which we're doing as a supplement for King crab right now.” 

The smoked cod and salmon have another interesting connection to the region. He explained that a small outfit near Ketchikan prepares those products using a family recipe that has been passed down through generations. And just as the seafood follows the fishing seasons, the mobile units follow the availability of different catches. 

“The Kings run first. Then you have your sockeye and coho's are coming. Silvers usually run close to last,” Blume explained. “We follow the seasons for the freshest catch and many customers know the schedule so they know what we'll have and it's also listed on our website what each mobile unit has.”

The text notification system brought Valerie Inouye to the Superior stop. Having signed up for the alerts, she knew when and where to find the truck. “I think this is my third time here,” she said. 

Her husband prefers coho or king salmon, while she favors sockeye. But this particular visit had another purpose. 

“But I'm here for halibut today because I make a mean Halibut Olympia,” she said with a big grin.

For Peeler, that's what the business is all about: bringing quality seafood to communities that may not have easy access to it, while supporting the hardworking fishermen and coastal towns that have been part of his life since childhood. It's a long journey from a fishing boat in southeast Alaska to a parking spot in Superior, but the next time that black trailer rolls into town, customers know there's a little taste of Alaska waiting behind those French doors. 

To see the schedule, available seafood or sign up for text notifications, visit www.peelersseafood.com.