Two former Gander Mountain stores to reopen locally under new name

The new owner of retailer Gander Mountain plans to reopen at least 69 stores this year under the name Gander Outdoors, including one store in Castleton and another in Greenfield.

The local stores are expected to open in early February to early March, the company announced Thursday. The stores will hire a total of 115 employees, the company said.

Lincolnshire, Illinois-based Camping World Holdings Inc. acquired the nationwide intellectual property and the rights to the leases for Gander Mountain at a bankruptcy auction in April 2016. It did not, however, acquire the inventory of the stores and distribution centers.That inventory was subsequently sold by liquidators at going-out-of-business sales.

Marcus Lemonis, chairman of Camping World, who also hosts “The Profit,” a reality TV show on CNBC, said in May that he expected Gander stores in Avon and Greenwood to be among those that would eventually reopen, but those stores were not included on Thursday’s list. The only other location in Indiana included on the list is in Fort Wayne.

“It was important to me to bring the Gander Outdoors back to the wonderful community of Indianapolis because the employees were top-notch and the store was a great performer serving the outdoor enthusiast community,” Lemonis said in a written statement Thursday. “In addition to the Indianapolis locations, we are currently pursuing other locations for reopening and expansion, and expect to announce additional locations and markets in the coming weeks.”

Lemonis had been iffy about the possibility of the Castleton store reopening without a better deal on the lease.

The Gander stores are about 45,000 to 55,000 square feet in size and carry outdoor equipment, apparel and supplies.

The new stores will serve “customers who are passionate about hunting, fishing, marine and water sports, camping, and active and shooting sports,” the company said.

St. Paul, Minnesota-based Gander Mountain got its start in 1960 as a catalog-based retailer of hunting and camping supplies. The retailer was acquired several times, went public twice and filed for reorganization in the 1980s and the 1990s.