What happened to Reeds??

[cluelessfisherman]

What in the world happened to Reeds and where is the MN fishing hall of fame now?

[Ice4blood]

They struck some sort of buyout deal with Gander and now they are gone. I haven't heard what they did with the hof?

[AWH]

The HOF moved to Gander in Baxter.

Aaron

[JConrad]

The Baxter store was acquired by Gander Mountain including the inventory... The building has since been sold and the latest that I heard is it will soon become a fitness center.

Just a note.....this area does not have the population to support two large sporting stores like Reeds and Gander Mountain... Thus one was bound to be sold or closed down, so I am not really surprised that Reeds was sold... I also understand that Reeds got a very good price for the business and they sold the building separately.

Many of us would have loved to see Reeds stay and Gander go but the bigger corporation with the deeper pockets ended up with the business.

Stay tuned because I believe Reeds may be opening a store later this year just south of lake Mille Lacs off 169... This comes from a pretty good source. So if you are coming up from the cities you can take the 169 route up if you wish to stop at Reeds....

[CrappieAttitude]

 Originally Posted By: JConrad

Stay tuned because I believe Reeds may be opening a store later this year just south of lake Mille Lacs off 169... This comes from a pretty good source. So if you are coming up from the cities you can take the 169 route up if you wish to stop at Reeds....

I heard this as well, however I also heard that it will be a significantly smaller store than what was in Baxter. I believe that they had some sort of non-competeing clause in their purchase agreement, so that is one of the reasons why they are looking in the Onamia area.

CA

[mrklean]

No reeds ill just go to Mills that place is just as good just no bait.

[DUCKJ]

Reeds IS opening a store south of Mille lacs. Done deal!

As for leaving brainerd, If im corect they may return in 5 yeays time. Part of the buy out deal.

They leased the building out, they didnt sell it.

[cluelessfisherman]

There is a big commercial property sold sign out in front. Looks like a polaris or arctic cat atv/snowmobile place going in there now. Oh well. I was just curious.

[ditchpickle6996]

There has been a Polaris dealer there for quite some time. (Well before Reeds closed.)

[DAVEH]

Reeds bought Trophy's south of Mille Lacs on 169.

Word in Brainerd is Denny Hecker bought the Reeds building,

he also bought Bar Harbor this winter=deep pockets!!!!

[JConrad]

I was in Denny Hecker Toyota yesterday and I was told the same thing that he bought the building and will be leasing it out to a fitness center company...

Yes very deep pockets!

[fish_on]

If the little bird in my ear is correct, the new Reeds will not be selling guns. Just a tackle shop. According to him they have gotten some real heat for allowing straw sales on their firearms. I am not sure if they got into trouble or not but I do know that they sold more than a couple of guns to folks who were buying for other parties. I personally loved the fact that they had a lot of stuff gander did not. However the prices at Gander were a litle better. And I am all for cheaper. Plus I love the people at the Gander.....well most of them..

[squigglybert]

I was really bummed to see a store like reeds go. Agreed that the prices at gander might be a little better, but the service doesnt even compare. The guys over at reeds were way more helpful and knowledgable, I guess thats what you get at a local store like reeds. Majority of the people at gander seem clueless.

[ImissReeds]

Gander's hunting staff is still a joke, IMO. The archery gal and the ATV guys do a good job, but they are the exception. I travel all the time for work and get to see all the Ganders in MN regularily (along with most other sports stores). All I can say is Brainerd's store is only second to St. Cloud's crummy Gander.

Most(Not all) the Gander staff is lacking in outdoor knowledge, not even close to the caliber of Reeds. One thing I am sure of is that some of the Brainerd Gander staff needs to learn that the customer needs to come first. I've stood numerous times waiting to ask a question or get help and staff was talking amongst themselves about some non work related topics knowing full well I was there, yet still made me wait.

Reeds guys know that the customer comes first and they can also special order things they don't have on hand (promptly and they call you when it arrives!), try that at Gander, what a joke...

[late night]

You get what you pay for. I, for one, was really upset when I had $20.00 worth of Reed gift certificates, used them at Reeds on a few items only to find out they would have cost me the same at Gander Mt. without the gift cards. Yah, the guy at Reed could tell me the in's and out's of some super electronic junk that the adverage fisherman (doesnt) needs and tell me how great its going to improve my fishing "preformance" but I know what I need and want and the only store advise I need is "What isle?"

[WaveWacker]

I believe Reeds was doing just fine business wise in Baxter. I am bummed out in a major way that they left but can't blame them for making a deal if the dollars and cents worked for them. I stepped into Gander once after the Reeds closure and that will be my last time in. Electronics obviously don't compare and the people just seemed more knowledgable. As far as for pricing, I felt they were very reasonable (especially on electronics and guns). I'll spend the extra gas to make a run up to Walker now if I really need something big or buy my "little" things at FF.

[MUSKY18]

Reeds won't be selling guns for the first two years after they open the store in Onamia. After that, they will have the right to sell guns, wether or not they do is yet to seen. Part of the deal with Gander was that Reeds couldn't open another store within 40 miles of an existing Gander, hence the Onamia location.

Gander sucks. If they bought up Reeds inventory, I sure don't know what they did with it. The sales folks (most of them) couldn't find a Muskie lure with a compass and a map. The selection of baits that they carry sucks. I went in there to look for a Manta, and the guy working in that department didn't even know what one was. I will order my lures from Muskie Tackle Online, Thorne Bros, or Rollie and Helen's, at least they know tackle. I won't hesitate to drive to Reeds when I am up in that area too! Gander........NO WAY!

[Write-Outdoor]

Denny Hecker's Bar Harbor eh? Interesting.

That's a good thing because it is in need of some revamping. Had a very bad experience there this last September waiting 90 minutes for dinner, then getting it cold, and no apology or recognition that a mistake was made...but that's a separate issue!

Reeds closing shop is a tough deal but their move to Mille Lacs is awesome. Count me as one of those Brainerd Lakes anglers who long for the days when Marv Koeps was the place to go and they were open 24 hours the night before opener and you could walk in and rub shoulders with Al, Ron, Roach and Babe.

Sigh...now I sound old!