When Midwest Mountaineering in Minneapolis closed its doors last fall after more than 50 years in business, another chapter was written in Minnesota's long, colorful history of the sport.
Midwest Mountaineering's reputation for quality gear, especially paddling gear, and salespeople knowledgeable about canoe trips and other adventures was well deserved. Midwest Mountaineering, too, for many years had a feel that suggested it was the place to be if you were heading inland—in part because some, or many, of the people who hung out or worked there had already been to places you were going
That said, its location on Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis' West Bank was problematic for a number of reasons, including parking availability.
The rise and fall of Midwest Mountaineering is reminiscent of similar performances by other Minnesota manufacturers, many of whom produced or sold gear that performed as promised but for various reasons couldn't compete. In some cases, they failed because hunters, anglers, skiers, climbers and others who spend time outdoors migrated to “the next big thing” in retail. .
An old clothing manufacturer, now buried in the history books, was Minnesota's first major outdoor retailer and catalog, Kennedy Bros. Arms Co. of St. Paul.
Founded in 1866, Kennedy Bros sold many guns, many through its catalog, including to buffalo hunters. Teddy Roosevelt even bought rifles there on his way west.
In 1917, Kennedy Bros. opened a retail store at the corner of Minnesota and 5th Streets in downtown St. Paul, advertising “hunting clothing, camping supplies, fishing tackle and sporting goods.” The store closed in 1958.
Another outdoor landmark of St. Paul downtown was Gokey, founded in 1850, whose handmade boots and other footwear, as well as wardrobes (including Duluth packs), gun cases and quality clothing made them an interesting, if somewhat upscale , destination. (Gokey is still active in Missouri. See gokeyusa.com.)
However, another major player in Minnesota's long history of sporting goods retailers was George Herter. The founder of Herter's, once described as “a dazzling mixture of bamboo and brains, snake oil and knowledge,” George started his business in his parents' Waseca garage in 1936, selling flies and cork duck decoys, before expanding into other products.
A few years ago, I had six dozen Herter's jacket and canvas decoys, which I used while duck hunting in the Delta Marsh in Manitoba. Although heavy, these blocks rode high in the water, attracted birds and were in high demand. As a bonus, you could shoot them and they wouldn't sink.
At one time, Herter's was the nation's largest mail-order sporting goods business, with 2-inch-thick catalogs periodically arriving in customers' mailboxes. In addition to Waseca, Herter's opened stores in Glenwood, Minn. Mitchell, SD; Beaver Dam, Wis.; Iowa City and Iowa Falls, Iowa; and Olympia, Wash.
When Herter's went bankrupt in 1977, the brand was purchased by Cabela's, which in turn was purchased by Bass Pro Shops in 2016.
Twins Ted and Bud Burger were just 25 years old in 1970 when they opened their first Burger Brothers Sporting Goods store at 50th and France in Edina, quickly establishing themselves as outdoorsmen who could speak firsthand about quality outdoor gear and how to use them.
“The Japanese were knocking off a lot of outdoor gear at the time, which resonated with the bigger players who were concerned about price,” Bud said. “This left us with an opportunity to sell quality products on the west side of the Twin Cities, which Joe [Sporting Goods] and Gokey's did too, but in St. Paul.”
The brothers started their business because of their love of the outdoors and the associated lifestyle.
“Today, everything is driven by electronic media. But it still comes back to quality merchandise,” Bud said. “If you can combine that with educating customers and employing experienced staff, you have a winning format.”
In 1995, six Burger Brothers stores, employing 400 people, were sold to Gander Mountain [now, through various transactions, Gander Outdoors]. Gander Mountain, in turn, opened more than 160 stores in 27 states before filing for bankruptcy.
Another now-departed Twin Cities outdoor retail player was Eastern Mountain Sports, or EMS. As I recall, EMS started with a small shop upstairs in Minneapolis on Hennepin Avenue, where I bought a pair of wooden cross-country skis that I still have. Later, EMS opened a larger Roseville store with a climbing wall and sold quality outdoor clothing and gear.
In fact, the marketing approach and product lines offered by EMS resembled in some ways what REI currently uses, with success, in its three Twin Cities stores.
Today, though, Minnesota's sporting goods scene is dominated by big outfits like Cabela's, Dick's, REI and Scheels, as well as Fleet Farm and Walmart. Joe's in St. Paul, now 94, remains a successful, privately owned outlier, as is Reeds Family Outdoor Outfitters in Walker, in business for 72 years.
“My grandfather, Joe, started Joe's as a Buick repair shop at Como and Dale in St. Louis. Paul,” said Joe Rauscher III, who now owns Joe's. “He had concrete tanks in the basement of his store that could keep minnows alive in the winter, which was rare back then. That's how he got into the bait shop and sporting goods business.”
Joe III and his brother, Jim, who retired a year ago, moved the business to its current location in St. Paul in 2003. Quality equipment, customer service and experienced employees (one of whom has been Joe for 40 years) have been critical to the business' success, Rauscher said.
For similar reasons, Reeds has succeeded despite being headquartered far from the metro in Walker (with another store in Onamia, serving the Mille Lacs area), said its patriarch, Jeff Arnold, whose two sons, Adam and Andrew, own the business.
“We want to give customers a positive experience when they come into the store,” said Jeff Arnold. “Best service, price and advice were our focus, along with a competitive online presence.”
And are the consumers in this ever-changing market—outdoor enthusiasts—better off now than in the past or worse off?
Much better, with more outdoor clothing and gear options than ever before.
Today's challenge, however, remains the same as Teddy Roosevelt's a century-plus ago when he stopped at Kennedy Bros. Arms at St. Paul: To buy gear that performs as promised, at an affordable price.
