Midwest Mountaineering, an iconic outdoor retailer located next to the University of Minnesota’s 19th Avenue Ramp on the West Bank, has closed its doors.
Midwest Mountaineering was established in 1970 as “The Johnson Company,” and the next year took on its new name and moved into a storefront at 1408 Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis, where “rent was cheap,” according to the company’s website. “Wandering hobos found solace” in the store’s tent room.
In 1976, in an urban renewal effort that saw the core of downtown Minneapolis expand into the rundown section of Hennepin Avenue where Midwest Mountaineering was situated, the store was forced to move.
According to the Midwest Mountaineering website, urban renewal “was happening on the West Bank, an even more rundown counter-culture haven [than Hennepin Avenue] near the U of M… the city wanted young entrepreneurs… to come in a spruce places up.”
Thus, Midwest Mountaineering opened at 309 Cedar Avenue, eventually expanding to envelop five adjacent buildings.
According to the website, “U of M students flocked in to fuel the backpacking, climbing, X-C skiing craze of the late 70s. Midwest Mountaineering boomed.” It was a place to become equipped to make one’s dreams come true.
The Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis came to boast a vibrant array of great restaurants and distinctive shops like Midwest Mountaineering.
In the 1980s, after the company had started selling canoes, Midwest Mountaineering’s founder, Rod Johnson, came up with the idea of having a canoe exposition at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. The “Great Minnesota Canoe Event” was launched and featured information sessions from renowned outdoor experts and famous adventurers, as well as a used canoe auction, and a booths promoting every manner of canoe outfitter and outdoor expeditionary vendor.
Soon, Midwest Mountaineering launched a “Winterfest” exposition, sometimes held at the St. Paul Civic Center, and sometimes held at Canterbury Downs.
Later, both events came to be held at Midwest Mountaineering and on the adjacent grounds as well as in some U of M buildings, which were ideal for sessions keynoted by world-class adventurers and authors.
Every day, Midwest Mountaineering offered first-hand advice and technical expertise to outdoor novices and experts alike, in addition to the highest-quality gear and clothing for outdoor adventurers. One of the company’s slogans was “Ask us. We’ve been there.” Another was “Sharing Passion for the Outdoors.”
All of that is history.
During the month of October, Midwest Mountaineering conducted an everything-must-go sale that included store fixtures and everything else, from mannequins to tools to file cabinets to office equipment. The company also gave away a huge amount of Midwest Mountaineering memorabilia, point-of-sale marketing materials, and advertising promotional materials—everyone shopping at the store in its final days of operation was allowed to take two items for free.
A clerk working at Midwest Mountaineering on it’s last official day open to the public lamented the store’s closure: “It’s iconic—it should be here forever.”
The clerk explained that layers of circumstances led to the store’s demise, including the prevalence of online shopping, competition from mega retailers, and “it’s not that great of a neighborhood.”
Indeed, “Little Mogadishu” or the “Somali Capital of America” as the locals call the neighborhood today, has changed substantially in recent years due to gang activity and crime. Moreover, many of the businesses that made this a vibrant destination for shoppers and diners from across the region have disappeared, including other acclaimed establishments like Global Village Imports, which operated in the neighborhood from 1971 to 2009, and the Triple Rock Social Club, which was open from 1998 to 2017, just to name a couple.
What will move into the 125-year-old building at 309 Cedar Ave remains to be seen. For now, the tight-knit community of outdoor enthusiasts that was brought together by Midwest Mountaineering is mourning the loss of this escape on the West Bank.
