WASHINGTON — When you’re hunting and outdoor recreation chain Cabela’s, you can’t just cut your opening day ribbon with a pair of scissors, but a 12-gauge shotgun would have been over-the-top, so Cabela’s employed the services of an expert archer.
And archer Jeff Ware, perched on a stand 15 feet in the air and 15 yards away, shot an arrow that sliced through the ribbon on his first shot.
Cabela’s opened its Gainesville, Virginia, store March 9 at 5219 Wellington Branch Drive, its first location in the Washington area.
The massive, 80,000-square foot store is its third in Virginia. It has other locations in Short Pump and Bristol.
Sidney, Nebraska-based Cabela’s had a humble beginning.
Founder Dick Cabela started the business selling mail-order, hand-tied fishing flies in 1961. It now has more than 80 stores in the U.S. and Canada, and a huge mail-order business.
Cabela’s stores are a haven for outdoor recreation enthusiasts, from hunting and fishing to boating and camping.
Its stores are as much museums as they are retail outlets, with dozens of taxidermy mounts, its signature conservation mountains, wildlife-display features and regional specific themes.
Cabela’s says its stores “pay tribute to the patriotic heritage with one-of-a-kind features highlighting the Bill of Rights, Second Amendment and our nation’s armed forces, as well as special firearm displays donated by the National Rifle Association.”
Cabela’s has agreed to be acquired by Bass Pro Shops, though the merger is still awaiting regulatory approval.
