Outdoor outfitter REI, Inc. is celebrating the grand opening of its Huntsville store this weekend with vendor tents and free gifts outside and special deals inside. The store at MidCity on University Drive near High Point Climbing and Fitness has been open several weeks with people lining up at opening time, the manager said.
“We are super excited to be here in Huntsville,” store manager Jason Priest said Friday. Priest said the store is “all about getting outside” with the right gear and knowledge to have the best experience possible.
REI sells a range of outdoor gear from clothing, sunglasses and footwear to tents, kayaks and bikes, but it doesn’t sell guns or fishing gear. Other than those exceptions, most things you would expect are here plus some things you may not have expected. A rack of spare parts such as zipper pulls, belt buckles and “tent pole splints” is one example.
The Huntsville store is the second REI in Alabama. The first was in Birmingham. The company gives 70 percent of its national profits back to conservation efforts each year, Priest said. In Alabama, it is already supporting the Freshwater Land Trust and the Alabama River Alliance.
REI is open from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m.
(Updated to correct an earlier version saying that you have to be a member to shop at REI. You do not have to be a member.)
