Cabela's Is Coming To Delaware

It was recently announced that the outdoor superstore mega-giant Cabela's is planning on opening a free-standing store at the Christiana Mall sometime in 2014.  Reading the initial announcement, I was excited.  I mean who wouldn't be?  I would now have an awesome outdoor store within a 15 minute drive of my house instead of the hour and a half it takes me to drive to the Cabela's in Hamburg or the Bass Pro in Arundel.  Where else can you go and buy anything ever made in camo,

 see some awesome animal mounts,

check out their aquariums

and then have lunch without ever leaving the building?

But then I got to thinking.  What is going to happen to the independent stores that we as an area and I as a consumer depend on now for our goods?  Will people continue to justify visiting the smaller shops that may not have what they want in stock when they can go to Cabela's and get what they want and maybe even for a lower price?  I know that I will continue to visit the independent shops that kept me going before Cabela's was around and will hopefully continue to co-exist with Cabela's in the future.  It is up to you to continue to visit your local independently owned stores and continue to give them your business.  Just remember who was there for you when you starting out in your endeavor and didn't know anything about the sport.  Who showed you the different equipment available and what your different options were?  When you wanted to tie that fly you bought at the fly shop on vacation who helped you come up with what materials were needed to replicate that fly and the steps required to tie the fly?  When you wanted information on a local (or not so local) stream who gave you advice (location, flies, directions) when you asked?

Keep visiting your local, independently owned shops.  When they are gone because everyone visited the big box store, they aren't going to come back.

One final shout-out to Terry Peach owner of A Marblehead Fly Fisher in Centreville, DE, my local fly shop.  Terry has always gone above and beyond for me whether it was tying supplies, supplies for on the stream, equipment, and lessons.

 

http://www.amarbleheadflyfisher.com/