Gastro Gnome - Eat Better Wherever

Cabela's...sigh

I used to love stopping at the Cabela's in Reno, NV as I passed through on various expeditions. I'd stop whether I needed anything or not just because it was a great store. I'd always find something I didn't know I needed. It makes me sad to think it's been replaced with a BP. I'd try not to even look if I drove by today.
 
Went to the dirt race in Bristol a couple weeks ago and went to the cabelas store to kill time. Completely closed down and locked up. Had to go to the bass pro across town.
 
In Grand Junction, Gene Taylor started a sporting goods store, a family business, in 1958. Later they added stores in Gunnison, Crested Butte, Snowmass and a little store in Fruita. Besides hunting/fishing/shooting they had ski/snowboard sales, repair, rental, bicycles. They sold team sports gear in season, had a photo lab when cameras used film. Backpacking/camping, sports oriented clothing, maps, a fishing pond @ the GJ store, bragging boards. Gene and his family built a successful retail business and shared the wealth w the community by philanthropy, sponsoring sports and teams. Employees stayed there for years, and the customer service was personal.

When Sportsman's Warehouse moved into the town mall, impacts of the competition were visible in Taylors almost immediately. Loyalties became divided, I along w loyal others did our best to keep the doors open @ Taylor's. To no avail. Employees I knew as friends and sporting mentors gradually defected to the big box or got laid off. Inventory slipped. Eventually they closed the GJ store and the CB store. Sportsman's flourished w the demise of Taylor's GJ store, until Cabelas came to the same mall and crushed it. Now Cabela's is a crayfish shell of its former self.

Gene Taylor's is still a community fixture on Highway 50 in downtown Gunnison, next door to Mario's Italian restaurant. The family stores were gathering places, sources for scouting and harvest reports, places to line up for limited license sales. Chain stores had better selections but less community. Then online vendors did to the chain stores what they did to Taylor's. We were left w getting our gear from UPS drivers who were clueless what was hatching on the Taylor, how many cow tags would be offered on Grand Mesa, or who was dominating the city softball league. I miss talking hunting w Keith, swapping a 6 pack for a ski tune by Brett, trying to get a smile out of Gene. Etail can't compare.

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In Grand Junction, Gene Taylor started a sporting goods store, a family business, in 1958. Later they added stores in Gunnison, Crested Butte, Snowmass and a little store in Fruita. Besides hunting/fishing/shooting they had ski/snowboard sales, repair, rental, bicycles. They sold team sports gear in season, had a photo lab when cameras used film. Backpacking/camping, sports oriented clothing, maps, a fishing pond @ the GJ store, bragging boards. Gene and his family built a successful retail business and shared the wealth w the community by philanthropy, sponsoring sports and teams. Employees stayed there for years, and the customer service was personal.

When Sportsman's Warehouse moved into the town mall, impacts of the competition were visible in Taylors almost immediately. Loyalties became divided, I along w loyal others did our best to keep the doors open @ Taylor's. To no avail. Employees I knew as friends and sporting mentors gradually defected to the big box or got laid off. Inventory slipped. Eventually they closed the GJ store and the CB store. Sportsman's flourished w the demise of Taylor's GJ store, until Cabelas came to the same mall and crushed it. Now Cabela's is a crayfish shell of its former self.

Gene Taylor's is still a community fixture on Highway 50 in downtown Gunnison, next door to Mario's Italian restaurant. The family stores were gathering places, sources for scouting and harvest reports, places to line up for limited license sales. Chain stores had better selections but less community. Then online vendors did to the chain stores what they did to Taylor's. We were left w getting our gear from UPS drivers who were clueless what was hatching on the Taylor, how many cow tags would be offered on Grand Mesa, or who was dominating the city softball league. I miss talking hunting w Keith, swapping a 6 pack for a ski tune by Brett, trying to get a smile out of Gene. Etail can't compare.

View attachment 180583
It’s sad to watch that stuff happen.
 
In Grand Junction, Gene Taylor started a sporting goods store, a family business, in 1958. Later they added stores in Gunnison, Crested Butte, Snowmass and a little store in Fruita. Besides hunting/fishing/shooting they had ski/snowboard sales, repair, rental, bicycles. They sold team sports gear in season, had a photo lab when cameras used film. Backpacking/camping, sports oriented clothing, maps, a fishing pond @ the GJ store, bragging boards. Gene and his family built a successful retail business and shared the wealth w the community by philanthropy, sponsoring sports and teams. Employees stayed there for years, and the customer service was personal.

When Sportsman's Warehouse moved into the town mall, impacts of the competition were visible in Taylors almost immediately. Loyalties became divided, I along w loyal others did our best to keep the doors open @ Taylor's. To no avail. Employees I knew as friends and sporting mentors gradually defected to the big box or got laid off. Inventory slipped. Eventually they closed the GJ store and the CB store. Sportsman's flourished w the demise of Taylor's GJ store, until Cabelas came to the same mall and crushed it. Now Cabela's is a crayfish shell of its former self.

Gene Taylor's is still a community fixture on Highway 50 in downtown Gunnison, next door to Mario's Italian restaurant. The family stores were gathering places, sources for scouting and harvest reports, places to line up for limited license sales. Chain stores had better selections but less community. Then online vendors did to the chain stores what they did to Taylor's. We were left w getting our gear from UPS drivers who were clueless what was hatching on the Taylor, how many cow tags would be offered on Grand Mesa, or who was dominating the city softball league. I miss talking hunting w Keith, swapping a 6 pack for a ski tune by Brett, trying to get a smile out of Gene. Etail can't compare.

View attachment 180583
The Gene Taylor’s store in Gunnison is awesome. If they don’t have it, you don’t need it! I always make it a point to stop in there every time I go through Gunnison.
 
The Cabela's in Hamburg, PA is their largest store. Previous to BP it was great. Lot's of gear, the warranty, selection and so forth. Not to mention the Bargain Cave. Now as mentioned above, it is a clothing store. The Bargain Cave replaced by a Women's Dept. The BP an hour away in Harrisburg is even worse.
 
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