Cabela’s store coming

TULALIP — The big empty lot next to the Home Depot in Quil Ceda Village is about to be filled — by Cabela’s Inc.

Cabela’s, the retailer of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, will begin building a 110,000-square-foot store this summer or fall, the company and the Tulalip Tribes announced Monday.

It will be the second outlet in Washington state for Cabela’s, which has stores in Lacey and 32 other places nationwide. It is expected to employ 150 to 200 people.

Teresa Meece, a marketer for the tribes’ Quil Ceda Village, said the popular sporting goods store will be a good fit with other stores in the area, which include a Walmart and Seattle Premium Outlets.

Cabela’s will be located between Home Depot and the tribal casino.

“It’s a very good fit with the resort casino,” Meece said. “We believe some of our customers are outdoorsmen and fishermen.”

Tribal chairman Mel Sheldon noted that the Quil Ceda Cabela’s will be the first on a tribal reservation.

“On behalf of the Tulalip Tribes, we welcome Cabela’s into this valuable partnership, which marks the historic occasion of the first Cabela’s store to be planned for opening on a Native American reservation,” he said in a prepared statement.

The tribal lease deal was a little more complicated because the tribes weren’t interested in selling the property.

Meece said that the site Cabela’s will fill had been sitting empty since 2001 because the Tulalips were trying to find the right business for the location. “People won’t be looking at that empty lot anymore,” she said.

The new Cabela’s will fill up most of the vacant property along the freeway, leaving just a narrow strip of land.

The building’s exterior will reflect Cabela’s traditional store model with log construction, stonework, wood siding and metal roofing, the company said.

Inside, the store’s extensive equipment and clothing will include conservation-themed wildlife displays and trophy animal mounts.

The company’s Kristin Lauver said the Tulalip store will be smaller than some of the company’s original models. Early stores were as large as 250,000 square feet, she said.

“We’re trying to have more efficient stores,” she said, adding that Cabela’s has done that by including the same amount of merchandise but putting things like the taxidermy off the floor.

She said the Tulalip location is perfect for Cabela’s because it’s in an area with a strong customer base, is highly visible along the freeway, and is an easy stop “for people who are headed somewhere.”

She said the company has yet to set a starting date for the work or an opening date for the store.

That means it can’t say yet when hiring will begin. Typically, she said, the company starts hiring about three months before a store opens and asks people to apply via Cabelas.com.

She said it will let people know when to do that.