REI Co-op still coming to Greenwich Place, but the opening will be later than planned

Almost a year ago, Have You Heard? reported that Washington-based REI Co-op would be coming to Greenwich Place.

The Seattle-area outdoor store has a new 20,000-square-foot building at Greenwich Place at K-96 and Greenwich, but it didn’t open this spring as expected because of COVID-19.

Now, as other stores are reopening in Wichita and beyond, REI is still on hold.

Via e-mail, an REI spokeswoman said the store is “working to open for business in Wichita later in the summer.”

“We don’t yet know exactly what that will look like, but we are taking a thoughtful, phased approach to reopening stores to customers,” Caitlin Goettler said.

REI president and CEO Eric Artz this week shared reopening plans on the website for the chain, which is turning 82.

“Our hope and expectation is that more than half of our stores will be open for curbside pick-up in time for our Anniversary Sale, May 15–May 25, and a small number of stores will be open for in-store services as well,” Artz wrote.

He included a link to plans for each store, but the Wichita REI wasn’t on the list.

REI carries men’s, women’s and children’s clothing and gear for all kinds of outdoor recreation, including biking, skiing, canoeing, kayaking, hiking, climbing, running, yoga and camping, among other things.

One special feature at the Wichita REI store will be a full-service bike shop for repairs and maintenance. The chain hasn’t shared a lot of other details about the new store.

Look for more information as soon as it’s available.

This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 12:31 PM.