Midwest Mountaineering to close in October; owner reflects on half a century of business
After 53 years, it's the end of an era for Midwest Mountaineering, a well-known and beloved outdoor retailer on Minneapolis' West Bank. Owner Rod Johnson says the store will close in October.
Johnson dropped out of college in the 1960s and decided he would pursue selling mountaineering gear. He began selling out of his kitchen in 1970 and in 1971, he opened a storefront on Hennepin Avenue and moved to the West Bank in 1976.
It was an uphill battle, he didn’t make any money for the first five years. But that didn’t matter to Johnson, he still felt like he made the right choice.
“It was successful because I was able to do what I loved and help people have great outdoor adventures,” he told MPR News’ Todd Melby in an interview. “I got them gear so they can have more fun and in that respect, it was successful.”
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After moving to the West Bank, business was booming, and Johnson built up a loyal customer base.
Returning guests described Midwest Mountaineering like a local REI. It occupies a nearly 125-year-old building, there are 14-foot ceilings and they’ve expanded the store so it is more accessible for customers. And for Johnson, he says “it just reeks of the outdoors.”
During the most recent winter, sales began to drop. What was usually $6 million a year in sales dropped to $4 million. Because there was such a snowy, cold winter, Johnson thought sales would be huge, but they began decreasing. He says that’s when he knew “something was really wrong.”
In May and June, money continued to plummet. An eerie feeling began to set over. Johnson grew up working at Sears, which at the time, was the most powerful retailer in the world. Several decades later and they are no longer as relevant in the business.
Johnson did not want that for Midwest Mountaineering.
“I figured, it was better to quit ahead and go out with a stellar reputation than slowly bleeding to death,” he said. “I am very sad that our mission of helping people have more fun outdoors will not continue.”
A liquidation sale begins Friday.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
TODD MELBY: Tell me about Midwest Mountaineering. When did it open? Why'd you do it?
ROD JOHNSON: I was going to college, back in the late '60s. And I decided I didn't want to be a chemist. So I dropped out, and then I had enough time to do fun things. Because I not only had a full credit load, but I had a job too, I was working my way through college. And what I had time to do is join the University of Minnesota Rovers Outdoor Club. And I went climbing, and whitewater canoeing, and backpacking with them, and just loved it. But I was very poor then. And I had this idea that I would ride in and get dealerships for myself so I could get my gear for wholesale. And I started selling gear out of my kitchen, back in 1970. And then in 1971, I opened up a storefront on Hennepin Avenue and in 1976, moved to the west bank.
TODD MELBY: Wait a minute, so you were selling mountaineering gear out of your kitchen in Minneapolis?
ROD JOHNSON: Yes, mountaineering gear and backpacking gear.
TODD MELBY: And how did that go, was the kitchen enterprise successful?
ROD JOHNSON: You know, I didn't make any money for the first five years as Midwest Mountaineering. It was successful in that I was able to do what I loved. I was able to help people have great outdoor adventures and get them gear so they could have more fun outdoors. In that respect, it was successful. But no money, no profit was made for five years. After the kitchen, I moved to 1408 Hennepin where they had that college, the community college now. And after being there for five years, they tore the building down to build a parking ramp for the college. And so I had to move somewhere. And I thought moving right next to the University of Minnesota would be a good location. And it was for many years.
TODD MELBY: And so, was the business profitable once you moved to the west bank and became known?
ROD JOHNSON: After five years, all of a sudden, I had built up enough customer base, it actually became profitable. And it became so profitable, I couldn't pay the taxes. But what I did was had a big sale and got enough money to cover the bills.
TODD MELBY: And how would you describe your store to someone who's never been inside of it?
ROD JOHNSON: You know, I heard a customer talking in the parking lot to a friend. They didn't know I worked at Midwest Mountaineering. And they said, Midwest Mountaineering is like an REI, except it's local. It occupies four different buildings, and we've blasted holes in the solid brick walls. It goes from room to room. We have high 14-foot ceilings. The building was built probably 125 years ago, so it has a lot of character. Some of the rooms have tin ceilings. It feels like an outdoor store. There are canoes and kayaks hanging from the ceiling. It just reeks of the outdoors.
TODD MELBY: It does. It does, indeed. I've been there, as you know.
ROD JOHNSON: If you have a big box store, you really can't duplicate that.
TODD MELBY: Right, right. How would you classify your sales?
ROD JOHNSON: 6 million a year. And I think this year, it'll be down to 4 million.
TODD MELBY: And how long have you been losing money?
ROD JOHNSON: Actually, it's just this year, 2023. What happened was last winter, we had a very strong winter. And normally, when we have a very strong winter, we have huge sales. But our sales did not increase, even with the strong winter. And I knew that something was really wrong. And in May, I got extremely concerned because May is one of our big profit months, along with June and July. And we've lost money in those months too. So I saw the downward trend.
And my goal was-- when I was a teenager, I worked at Sears. Sears at that time was the largest and most powerful retailer in the world. And now they've declined to nothing. And I didn't want that to happen to Midwest Mountaineering. So I figured it was better to quit when we were ahead and go out with a stellar reputation rather than slowly bleeding to death.
TODD MELBY: How are you feeling right now?
ROD JOHNSON: Very mixed feelings. I'm very sad that our mission of helping people have more fun outdoors will not continue. The employees are a lot of my good friends. And a lot of them love their jobs here. But at the same time, when a business is doing poorly, it's very stressful. And I'll be very happy to be rid of all that stress.
TODD MELBY: What will you do next?
ROD JOHNSON: Well, I'm 74 years old. So I'm definitely retirement age. And I'm not going to do anything making more money. I registered a nonprofit and got a website, be-nicer.org. It's actually be hyphen nicer.org. And I'm working on developing that, just doing my part to see what I can do to encourage people to be nicer.
TODD MELBY: Since you're an expert on the outdoors and we have a moment to ask you a question, what is the most underappreciated outdoor experience in Minnesota?
ROD JOHNSON: Well, I'm particularly fond of the Split Rock Loop on the Superior hiking trail. It's a five-mile loop, there's 11 waterfalls on it. The Superior Hiking Trail Association, about eight years ago, took the bridge down. So now you have to ford the river. In low water, you can rock hop across. But it's extremely scenic with 11 waterfalls. And a five-mile loop is just a great afternoon or morning hike.
TODD MELBY: That sounds like something even I could do.
ROD JOHNSON: Oh, I highly recommend it.
CATHY WURZER: That was midwest mountaineering owner Rod Johnson talking to our Todd Melby. The store will shut its doors October the 8th. But first, they're having a liquidation sale starting tomorrow.
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