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QuickTake:
Lookout reporter Grace Chinowsky set out to snag a limited-edition Nalgene at the grand opening of Eugene’s new Oakway Center REI. She met some of the co-op’s local superfans along the way.
Imagine a mob of Black Friday shoppers, except they’re sporting socks and sandals, hipster beanies and ear-to-ear grins. Welcome to the grand opening of the REI at Eugene’s Oakway Center.
The event on Friday, March 13, celebrated REI’s move from its original Eugene location at Lawrence Street and Third Avenue, which opened in 1992, to its new home at 95 Oakway Center. The larger space features expanded services and bigger departments for apparel, cycling, camping and footwear.
As a Seattle native, I was intrigued when I heard about the event the night before. The beloved outdoor gear co-op was founded in my hometown nearly a century ago. Selfishly, I longed to claim the event’s crown jewel: the limited-edition, Eugene-themed Nalgene water bottle that was promised to the first 250 shoppers.
After a night of dreaming about my future BPA-free drinking vessel, I showed up to Oakway Center at 9 a.m., where roughly 20 people were already waiting in line outside the store. Others perused vendor tents doling out free outdoorsy knicknacks and secured their morning caffeine fix at a free Farmers Union Coffee Roasters stand.
An employee with a beanie perched on his head directed me to the line’s end, where I was immediately greeted by another staffer advertising sweepstakes for discounted REI gear and free mini apple-cinnamon snack bars.
“You better give me one of those,” one hungry shopper behind me told him. “I need sustenance.”
My press badge made me a bit of a spectacle among my line neighbors: a freelance travel writer, a gentleman who introduced himself as Coyote and a mother-daughter-dog trio.
When I mentioned my Seattle roots, my line buddies followed up to ask how long I had been an REI member. I confessed I wasn’t one. I soon realized that in REI World, that confession is an invitation to hear a chorus of sales pitches from REI customers-turned-zealots.
My neighbors in line touted their years of commitment to the membership program — because REI is a co-op, the program does promise benefits beyond those seen in typical rewards programs — and gushed over the money they’ve saved and the perks they’ve cashed in — for the $30 one-time fee. (According to the store, there are 142,000 lifetime REI members in Eugene, which has about 179,000 residents.)
The daughter of the mother-daughter-dog trio admitted that she is an employee at the store, and came to the grand opening to accompany her mom, who came down from Portland to witness the event.
About 20 minutes before the store’s 10 a.m. opening, the excitement was real. Even the dog in line, chomping down a pup-sized cup of whipped cream, was feeling celebratory.
Finally, the sound of cowbells signaled that festivities were about to begin. REI employees in matching green vests gathered by the entrance for a noisy photo op.
Last-minute stragglers darted into line; Coyote returned to his spot after a quick detour at one of the vendor stands, mumbling that he shared a story about his recent exploration of polyamory to an employee in exchange for some free swag. At 9:55 a.m., the cowbells rose to a deafening pitch as the line — about 30 people now — began to move.
As I stepped across the store’s threshold, a staff member handed me the crown jewel, a gleaming purple Nalgene with a blue, green and orange screw-on lid, a white Pacific Northwest-inspired print and the words “REI CO-OP” and “EUGENE, OR” on the outside.
A wave of consumerist satisfaction and relief washed over me. My mission was over.
But I soon realized that my journey had only begun, as I stepped into the store and saw the sea of smiling, green-vested employees that had lined up to greet inaugural customers with a cowbell serenade.
Deeper in the store, the line dissipated as customers scurried to various vendor booths that offered even more free goodies, like electrolyte tablets and chemicals that bolster waterproof attire.
It was there that I met store manager Kayla DeForest, who led the Lawrence Street location for nearly three years before relocating her team and its operations to the Oakway Center location.
Given her last name, she appeared to have been born for the job. She quickly added that she was born in 1992, the same year Eugene’s REI opened.
As she was working to decommission the previous Lawrence Street store, which closed for business Feb. 22, DeForest said she found a handwritten customer comment from 2009, urging the REI to expand.
“Probably every store manager, at least in the last 15 years, has attempted to relocate this store,” she said, adding that real estate, parking and investment finally “aligned with the stars.”
Now that the store has a new home, it has hired 13 additional staffers for a total headcount of 55, and plans to hire more, expecting at least 100 candidates, DeForest said.
“It’s a long time coming to have more space,” DeForest said. “So, yeah, a lot of stoke.”
