When you suffer from wanderlust — the overwhelming desire to travel and explore the world — you can do one of two things: you can actually travel and explore the world…or you can help others to travel and explore the world. For Brittney and Jonathon Meier, they have elected to do both of those things as they put the finishing touches on their new Wanderlust Outfitters on the northern end of the central business district in downtown St. Joseph.
The ornate, longtime Peoples State Bank Building which also was home for a while to the St. Joseph Today Welcome Center, is being transformed into an outdoor lover's dreamscape ready to add in all sorts of gear for campers, hikers, travel-fans, and even those with an active lifestyle who just want too look the part with some awesome apparel to help craft the image. They are using barn wood planks reclaimed from Indiana barns dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. The old bank vaults will be pressed into action as unique changing rooms, and corrugated steel accents will enhance the hard goods part of the store.
Wanderlust Outfitters is the brainchild of Brittney & Jonathon who bring more than a decade of retail and distribution experience to the sales floor after working in the tire industry and learning the ropes.
The two actually met at Anderson University in South Carolina. For Jonathon, the return to Michigan's Great Southwest will be a homecoming of sorts. He is a Lakeshore High grad who was originally from St. Joseph and moved to Stevensville. Brittney hails from Monroe, Indiana just south of Fort Wayne.
As avid backpackers, hikers and campers themselves, the Meiers have an absolute passion for the industry and hope to fill a gap in the market that they say is going unfilled. Currently, aficionados of the outdoor arena need to travel to South Bend, Grand Rapids, Holland or Kalamazoo to find the style of gear they will introduce to the local scene when the store opens around mid-August.
The couple took of a leap of faith, having learned well from mentors at their previous jobs, and are ready to showcase a broad array of apparel, gear, shoes and other things for fans of the great outdoors. New product shipments are arriving daily and will soon go onto the racks being installed by contractors finishing the rugged, but hip, new showcase. Brittney is excited to offer up quality gear and apparel from Marmot with tents, sleeping bags, backpacks and outerwear…with footwear from Merrel…Osprey, the gold standard for backpackers, and other brands well-recognized by outdoorsmen from Kuhl & Prana, and others. They have a goal to incorporate North Face product lines into their inventory, however they'll have to earn that right as North Face only works with stores once they are up and running.
The vibrant young couple also invites customers to self-identify those things and brands that they'd like to see carried in the shop as the store grows. Vendors are being lined up, and new ones will be under consideration going forward.
They just returned from trying out some of the new gear and product lines on and along the Pere Marquette River near Baldwin. They are passionate about the great outdoors themselves, routinely traveling throughout Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee on backpacking, hiking and camping trips.
Jonathon says Southwest Michigan is a great place to establish their new business due to the proximity of great forests, lakes, streams and other natural amenities that people travel here to experience.
The couple has been working with multiple vendors to garner seasonal gear, which is a bit tricky considering they themselves are also already in the retail cycle searching for, and ordering, new things for the spring and summer of 2017. Nevertheless, they pledge to have a great showcase when the store launches a soft-opening around mid-August with plans for a Grand Opening on the Friday and Saturday of the Labor Day weekend.
Look for Wanderlust Outfitters to be in the house seven days a week when the shop opens for business. Initial hours, which may be adjusted by season, will run from 10am until 7pm Monday through Thursday, 9am until 9pm Fridays and Saturdays and Noon until 5pm on Sundays.
When chatting with the Meiers I also met Jessica, the Assistant Manager, but they are still hiring for part-time sales associates and taking applications for those positions. You can learn more on their Facebook page by clicking this link:
Brittney says they chose the name Wanderlust because they love the adventurous and exploratory spirit that the word engenders since the official definition is "a strong desire to travel and explore the world." Get ready to explore it with them, as opening day approaches in a few short weeks.
