HANCOCK -- According to the New York Times, Peterson’s Fish Market in Hancock is one of the best places to buy smoked fish in the U.P.  But that's only one of the reasons that customers frequent the family-run fish market.

Peterson’s sells about 6,000 pounds of smoked or fresh lake trout and whitefish each week during the summer.

Customers from the Copper Country and beyond just can't seem to get enough of it.

"In the winter we've even ordered the fish and they send it down so that we can enjoy it.  I grew up eating smoked whitefish, so it's like a family tradition," said Tina Tolin, a repeat visitor from Ann Arbor.

Pat Peterson and her husband, Gil, opened the market in 1992.  They still do all of the day-to-day operations with the help of family and a small staff.

"What the people like is the personal service, and we'll stand there and talk to them.  We get a lot of elderly people that come up and are lonely and just want to talk," said Peterson.

Peterson’s success has allowed the business to expand a little each year.  Last July, they experimented with a small take-out service and outside dining area.

"Some people actually drove by everyday and never even noticed we were here.  And then they'd say, 'When did you open out here?'  'Well, last summer!'  'Really?'  and then they tell somebody and then they tell somebody," Tammie Peterson said.

The summertime concession stand has become extremely popular with locals.  In fact owners have begun making plans to open a larger kitchen with year-round operations sometime in the next two years.