No drawbacks as Trader Jan's opens Dartmouth location

May 4, 2022

There’s a new target in town, well a few actually.

After more than three decades in Fall River, Trader Jan’s Archery Pro Shop has officially moved its range to High Hill Farms at 644 Faunce Corner Road.

“It’s a whole new concept for us,” said owner Jill Oliveira, who is a Dartmouth resident herself. “I’m kind of at the mercy of the weather, but so far so good.”

At the new outdoor range, archers can work on their precision with targets and enjoy the company of Turk-turk, one of the nearby farm turkeys.

“He’s so friendly,” Oliveira said. “He’s what I like to call a ‘people turkey.’”

Trader Jan’s was founded by Oliveira’s parents in 1990. She said the idea came because they wanted to “have a family-friendly range and shop anyone could enjoy.”

The name “Trader Jan’s” was chosen to honor her mother Janice.

“At the time, women business owners were considered a minority,” Oliveira said. “So my parents decided to name it after my mother.”

Oliveira, an avid archer herself, took over the business in 1996. 

Since becoming the owner of Trader Jan’s, she has since expanded the business to include her own operation of creating custom bow strings through her other venture “Wicked Twisted.”

“My mother came up with that name,” Oliveira said with a laugh. “She figured ‘why not have something that’s truly Massachusetts?’”

For the past 31 years, her family’s business operated out of the Richard Borden Manufacturing Company Mill No. 2 on Plymouth Avenue in Fall River. At the end of last year, Oliveria said the property owner decided to sell the building in order to convert it into a self-storage facility.

“All of us in the building were not happy about that,” she said. “All of us had been there 25-plus years and were just kicked out.”

The Dartmouth resident added that the business was supposed to open elsewhere, but the deal fell through just two weeks before she was set to open.

Thankfully, Oliveira said there was still the business’ trailer she could use and that the owners of High Hill Farms were more than willing to let her set up on their property.

“I had to adapt, but I’m still here,” she said. “Other than that, I’d be out of luck.”

While the range has only been open a couple of weeks, Oliveira said she’s already seen a lot of support from the community.

She noted that turnout has already been steady at the Faunce Corner location and that various troops and organizations have begun to reach out about scheduling private events.

As the business adjusts to its new location, Oliveira said she hopes to add a new shed that will replace the trailer. In a few years, she said she plans to have a larger structure built to fully bring back indoor archery.

“But for now, this will work,” she said with a smile.

While the move to Dartmouth was not expected, Oliveira said she’s glad to be in town.

“It’s really a sweet spot here,” she said. “I’m kind of an outside girl anyways.”

The range is open 1 to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. For more information, visit traderjans.com or call (774) 627-7743.