For four generations, one family has left its mark on the historic Bagnell Dam Strip, not only through dedicated business ownership, but also through the countless memories made behind the counter. Walking into The Frog, a custom T-shirt printing and apparel shop, customers may think they’ve entered a standard souvenir store. What they don’t realize is that they’re stepping into a family legacy that began more than 26 years ago.
The locally-owned shop was established by David and Beth Platter, both raised around fellow small business owners. Beth’s mother, Betty Paynter, owned Granny’s General Store, while David’s mother, Alta Platter, owned the very building where The Frog is today. In the late 1960s, Alta opened Red Lantern Gifts there, a jewelry and gift shop that later became the backbone for generations of the family business.
David and Beth began their journey with a small shop called Memory Bytes.They started in a small corner of Red Lantern Gifts, creating custom graphics, puzzles, mugs and more. As it quickly grew, they expanded across the hall, eventually purchasing a Peace Frogs franchise. In the early 2000s, the young couple packed up their inventory and moved to both Capital Mall and Columbia Mall, adapting to the seasonal tourism and demand in the lake area.
Their drive for having a successful business helped them flourish, and they eventually purchased David’s mother’s store, known as the Old Settlers Mall. Around 2012, custom apparel became a major focus of the business, and the shop was renamed The Frog — Toadally Custom Apparel. As things began picking up more and more, the next generation came aboard: daughters Heather Boren and Cari Green joined the business, bringing fresh ideas and new fashion trends. With the two of them stepping up, the shop continued to grow and now employs several people beyond the family. Even the grandchildren have contributed over the years as part-time employees.
Deeply rooted in the Lake of the Ozarks community, including the majority of the family graduating from School of the Osage, the lake has always played a significant role in their lives. In their earlier years, David worked as a boat salesman, and Beth participated in ski shows. Yet, the strongest staple keeping generations of their family deeply rooted here has been the family shop.Their grandchildren were practically raised there, spending a great deal of their childhood inside the shop and even setting up lemonade, popcorn and snow cone stands out front, following in the family’s footsteps.
That legacy hasn’t stopped yet. Their eldest granddaughter, AubryAnna Neal, along with her husband, Aidan Neal, carried on the tradition by opening their own coffee shop, Red Lantern Coffee Co. named in honor of Alta Platter’s original store. Located in the same historic building.
While David and Beth have recently stepped back from The Frog, after countless years of hard work, their daughters are now the face of the store. The family is grateful for the opportunity to have designed and printed custom apparel for countless small businesses, schools, churches, sports leagues and restaurants over the years. However, the most rewarding part of the journey has been the customers who have become close friends throughout these years, and the help of a community that never fails to support the family legacy rooted deeply in Lake of the Ozarks. Through time, the Platter family has remained loyal to their creativity and serving their community while also making memories and preserving tradition, something bigger than business success. The Frog has become much more than a retail shop on the Bagnell Dam Strip — it’s also proof of family, determination and history for many more generations to follow.
