Cabela's opening delights outdoors enthusiasts

LEHI — Thirteen states were represented in the parking lot. Cars came from nearly every state in the Mountain West, and from as far away as Virginia and New York.

Anyone arriving at Cabela's on its first day of business Thursday had plenty of time to browse license plates while circulating a full parking lot looking for space, but once inside the much-anticipated store, eager shoppers didn't seem to mind the crowds.

"It's a family outing," Mike Taylor said. "We spent all day in here."

Taylor and Gary Banks, both of Salt Lake City, left the store with new binoculars and expressed a deep sense of satisfaction that Cabela's is now in Utah. Like many of Thursday's shoppers, the two are longtime buyers from Cabela's catalogs.

"I'm glad they're here. It's a good business move for Utah," Banks said.

For most of those at the opening of the store, the excitement came from the fact that a store built by outdoors enthusiasts for outdoor enthusiasts has finally arrived in a state that attracts those enthusiasts.

And the excitement was obvious. Businessmen browsed the goods while wearing their cell phone earpieces, taking time to watch hunting videos between calls. Parents towed eager children through the aquarium and past the various dioramas.

Lori Gee of Salt Lake City brought her three sons and two of their friends. "They've heard about the store, they receive the catalog, and they wanted to look at the store."

The Gee children and their friends used words like "awesome" and "sweet" to describe the Lehi store, even about the so-called educational parts, like the African diorama. "It tells what happens in Africa," Tyler Gee said.

It was a busy day for Cabela's employees. After weeks of stocking shelves, they came to work Thursday morning to find an estimated 500 people waiting for the store to open.

Cabela's spokesman John Castillo said the crowds were steady, but eager employees were handling them well and keeping lines down.

"Our employees are having the most fun," he said. "They're ready to wait on customers. Our employees love the great outdoors. They love to hike, they love to hunt, they love to fish, and the only thing they love more than that is talking about it."