On Thursday, the sale of Boulder’s iconic Neptune Mountaineering to locals Shelley and Andrew Dunbar will be final.
By Friday morning, store manager Eric Schmidt will be on the phone, placing order for more product.
“As quickly as we can do it, we are going to stock up,” Schmidt said. “We’re excited for the opportunity to bring Neptune back to what it should be.”
Full inventory levels won’t be reached until spring, but Schmidt and others are already optimistic about the direction of the store under the Dunbars, who own the North American distribution company for Australian gear manufacturer Sea to Summit.
The couple purchased Neptune out of bankruptcy from its current owner, Texas-based Backwoods Retailer.
The sale was approved by the court Feb. 10 and will close this week. Financial information was not disclosed.
“We’re thrilled that it got approved,” said Shelley Dunbar. “This is the hub of the outdoor community, and it’s so inspiring to us.”
Shelley and her husband have contemplated buying the outdoor retailer “for years,” even before the 2013 sale to Backwoods’ owner Jennifer Mull
Even once that transaction finalized, the couple. didn’t give up hope.
“We just thought in the back of our minds she might be interested in selling, because Backwoods is a very different type of retailer then what Neptune is,” Dunbar said.
Since its 1973 founding, Neptune has been known as the place to get hard-to-find bits and bobs for climbing, skiing and other outdoor pursuits.
As Backwoods struggled amid a shortage of cash, the walls at Neptune became more bare. Visits from founder Gary Neptune became rare, and his beloved collection of historic mountaineering equipment disappeared.
Those things and more will be restored in the near future, Dunbar said. An interior remodel is planned, and the re-institution of Thursday night presentations is also in the works.
The founder himself hopes to have more of a physical presence at the 633 S. Broadway store, training staff and advising on product purchases.
“There might be some parts I can still play in the new store and still be retired,” Neptune said.
It was “sad” to see the store “go downhill,” he said, but it had an unexpected upside: “I learned how much it meant to people.”
“I was quite surprised. It made me feel kind of warm inside, like maybe I contributed a lot more than I thought I did.”
Dunbar and her husband are well aware of the special place that Neptune hold in the hearts of the outdoor community, and they don’t plan on screwing that up.
“We’re absolutely humbled by the outpouring of support we’ve received from people,” she said. “We plan to carry on all the traditions that Gary established and make it a great retail experience like it used to be.
“Neptune will rise again.”
Shay Castle: 303-473-1626, castles@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/shayshinecastle
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