(VA) Green Top taking over Gander Mountain store

[JohnBT]

That was the first thing I saw this morning on the front page of the paper. I hadn't had any coffee yet and all I could do was stand there and say "What?"

Gander Mtn opened the store in 2007 and then Bass Pro opened in 2008 and the battle was on.

Green Top has needed a new building for a long time. They'll be increasing their space from 12,000 square feet to 67,000 square feet. I'll miss the old place and the memories of 40 years of crowded shopping, but I'll get over it.

www2.timesdispatch.com/business/2012/may/31/8/gander-mountain-closing-store-green-top-sporting-g-ar-1956017/

www.greentophuntfish.com

 

[loadedround]

That's the first I have ever heard of "Greentop".

 

[JohnBT]

They've been on U.S. 1 a half-mile west of I-95 since before there was an I-95. They opened in 1947 iirc.

There's a Dick's Sporting Goods store just down #1 across from the big mall and then GM opened almost between I-95 and Green Top and then a year later Bass Pro opened 2 miles up I-95.

 

[Ryanxia]

First time I've heard of a green top too. Gander Mountain has some good MRE's.

 

[MAKster]

I've never understood the love for Greentop. They do have the largest used gun selection in the area, but their prices are really high and the service is lacking. Last time I was in there after spending 45 minutes trying to get the attention of an employee I just gave up and left.

 

[XD 45acp]

They do have the largest used gun selection in the area, but their prices are really high and the service is lacking

Yup. You think the prices are up there now... wait till they get in that new building paying rent on all that square footage. I pretty much knew Gander won't gonna make it.

 

[HOOfan_1]

Green Top has needed a new building for a long time. They'll be increasing their space from 12,000 square feet to 67,000 square feet. I'll miss the old place and the memories of 40 years of crowded shopping, but I'll get over it.

No kidding...that place is always like a cn of sardines.

I always thought they could just buy that empty lot next to them and rebuild.

Glad they are expanding...not glad they are moving from their original spot and not glad we are losing Gander Mountain. Their prices were high, but they were competition and I did buy several things there.

I also agree...Green Top's prices are too high. They were lower than Gander Mountain, but the same prices as Bass Pro.

I thought their service was ok...my biggest problem getting served is that they are always too crowded and they don't have enough staff. Worst prices and customer service in the area is De Goff's though. I refuse to shop there.

BTW to the people saying they have never head of Green Top....it is a local store, it is not a chain. Most every sportsman in Virginia...and I would wager EVERYONE who is a sportsman in the Richmond area has heard of them

 

[JohnBT]

Strange, I've never seen that happen in there in 40 years. Maybe they need a take-a-number system because the lines can get long at the gun counter registers.

The guys are easy to talk to if they aren't running, and they even have their names on their shirts.

I have to ask, high prices compared to what, DeGoff's and Bass Pro? Maybe we're looking at different kinds of guns. I'm waiting on GT to get in just the right Ed Brown .45 or maybe a new Colt.

John

 

[JohnBT]

"I always thought they could just buy that empty lot next to them and rebuild."

Me too, but the article said they were renting the building. Maybe the family kept the property when they sold the business. I'll ask next time I'm in there if I remember.

Maybe it's time for me to retire and get a part-time job at Green Top. But the new indoor range would be closer by 10 miles.

John

 

[HOOfan_1]

Maybe it's time for me to retire and get a part-time job at Green Top. But the new indoor range would be closer by 10 miles.

John

Colonial Shooting Academy?

Wow...talk about overpriced...those guys must have made their backstops out of gold....

 

[XD 45acp]

Oh Gosh DeGoff's... You talk about High prices... Jesse James ain't dead, he's setting prices at DeGoff's. I like GreenTop though... Patrick has always treated me good.

 

[HOOfan_1]

Oh Gosh DeGoff's... You talk about High prices... Jesse James ain't dead, he's setting prices at DeGoff's. I like GreenTop though... Patrick has always treated me good.

They have the nasty attitude of Jesse James too.

I think $545 for a Glock Gen 3 and $550 for a S&W M&P full size and $470 for a Ruger SR9 is pretty high. Those are the prices in their sales flyer that I just got today.

If their prices are the same as Bass Pro...which they have been when I compared prices recently, then IMO they are too high.

Glock Gen 3 should be around $500 IMO...I bought mine at Gander Mountain for $500 just last year.
S&W M&P should be around $500 too.
Ruger SR9 should be around $400-$420

They also sell AR-15 stripped lowers for $145...that is pretty expensive

 

[zoom6zoom]

I always thought they could just buy that empty lot next to them and rebuild.

Supposedly they had received approval to build a range facility on that site.... so perhaps with five times the footage in the new location there will be a range included.

 

[HOOfan_1]

that tiny little BBQ joint out front was their original store. My dad said he and his dad always used to joke with the Hopkins family that they paid for half of the building they currently occupy.

 

[XD 45acp]

Phat Boyz BBQ... that's some good Q too. Look, now ya got me all hungry....

 

[JohnBT]

"those guys must have made their backstops out of gold.... "

120 tons of steel plate. In addition to the 51 shooting lanes, there's an 1800 sq.ft. shoot house in the basement with moveable walls for LE training (and IDPA I hear.) And a private club on the second floor with its own shooting lanes.

www.styleweekly.com/richmond/shooting-high/Content?oid=1691393


I remember the old Green Top in the little building. Do you remember when Buzz and Ned sold BBQ from their trailer on weekends? I nearly died when they said they weren't going to do it anymore, but they opened a store in Richmond not far from the ball park. Whew.

I don't know what to tell people trying to save a few bucks. I'm more about saving time now, not money. I remember when $50 or $100 meant something to me. Heck, I remember working at McDonalds when the price of a burger went from 15 cents to 18 cents.

 

[HOOfan_1]

I remember the old Green Top in the little building. Do you remember when Buzz and Ned sold BBQ from their trailer on weekends? I nearly died when they said they weren't going to do it anymore, but they opened a store in Richmond not far from the ball park. Whew.

I don't know what to tell people trying to save a few bucks. I'm more about saving time now, not money. I remember when $50 or $100 meant something to me. Heck, I remember working at McDonalds when the price of a burger went from 15 cents to 18 cents.

Now they have a store in the old Fuddruckers on West Broad....they are overpriced too. $5 for a BBQ sandwich the size of a McDonalds 99 cent burger. I can get a mammouth BBQ sandwich at Extra Billy's with 2 sides for $8....and at Extra Billy's they have servers instead of a mile long walk up line.

My dad pays $100 for a year membership at Black Creek Shooting Association. I go with him for a $5 guest fee. It is only about 20 mintues farther than Colonial and has a 100 yard range, which there is no way Colonial could have. I was excited about Colonial opening up until I saw $100 Initiation plus $35 a month.

 

[JohnBT]

"Extra Billy's"

I like the brisket the best. It's the former Cattleman's restaurant building from back in the day before liquor by the dirnk. I eat there, I work in the old Thalheimer's Westmoreland behind the Anthem building on Staple's Mill. Ukrop's owns it now.

"My dad pays $100 for a year membership at Black Creek"

Unless he has the weekday-only membership, he pays $150 a year, just like me.

John

 

[HOOfan_1]

"Extra Billy's"

I like the brisket the best. It's the former Cattleman's restaurant building from back in the day before liquor by the dirnk. I eat there, I work in the old Thalheimer's Westmoreland behind the Anthem building on Staple's Mill. Ukrop's owns it now.

"My dad pays $100 for a year membership at Black Creek"

Unless he has the weekday-only membership, he pays $150 a year, just like me.

John

Yeah he just switched from any day to weekday....crowded enough on weekdays, I cringe to think what it is like on a weekend

 

[Black Knight]

I'll miss the old place to. I got my first handgun there, a 6" Colt Python back in 1979. I also got my first snub nosed revolver there years later, a 2 1/2" S&W 66-2. Boy the memories do come back.

 

[JohnBT]

Remember when they had ashtrays and you could smoke inside?


"Glock Gen 3 should be around $500 IMO...I bought mine at Gander Mountain for $500 just last year."

Maybe if they'd charged more for guns they wouldn't be leaving town next month and Green Top wouldn't be moving into the building. But really, how you you say what a gun should cost without knowing what the shop pays in rent, utilities, salaries, insurance, etc. You can't.

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

Everyone who does not own a business knows everything about how a business should be run,,,, just ask them. It is easy to have all the answers when you don't have to sign the checks.

 

[wheelgun6T9]

Bought my first handgun there over 20 years ago...and I'd guess a dozen guns there since then. They have a great used inventory - and I've found their new prices competitive.

A couple of the guys there are lacking in quality service but I just steer clear of them. Patrick is a stand up guy and I try to deal with him mostly. There are other great guys there as well. All gun shops have their share of turds...

I'm looking forward to the move. They already have a great supply of reloading and accessories - that will grow even larger. And it's a local business and I always like to see local businesses grow and prosper.

- wheelgun6t9

 

[CajunBass]

Green Top taking over Gander Mountain Store

That's what Travis was telling me yesterday when I was in there.

Yea, I'm going to miss this place, but then I miss the OLD place when all they sold was guns. I knew they were going to mess up when they expanded and started selling fishing tackle and clothes too. Oh...wait...that worked out pretty well for them, didn't it?

High prices? Compared to what? You see anything less expensive at Bass Pro? Or Degoffs? When was the last time you saw a classic Smith & Wesson or Colt revolver in one of those places? You might have. I don't know. I gave up looking.

They need to take Phat Boyz with them. I've waited out many a background check in that place.

Oh...and they better save me my front door parking place. It seems every time I stop there, one of the places right in front of the door is open. I've gotten so I sort of expect it now.

 

[jaysouth]

For those folks outside the Richmond area, Green Top is a cultural tradition that ranks with the Museum of the Confederacy or The Tobacco Company. If you are not 'seen' there on Friday after work, you won't get any invitations for the cotelion balls or shad plankings(just kidding!!).

I have been in there on Friday afternoons when Federal judges, investment bankers, mill workers and pulp wood hands were rubbing shoulders at the pistol counter.

Gun fanciers in central Virginia owe a debt of gratitude to Green Top for giving them such a visible shrine and common ground for their sport.

The founder, Cecil Hopkins will be long remembered when the name of every governor after Thomas Jefferson is long forgotten. Gander and Bass Pro did not do their market research in the Richmond area. Then again 'suits' probably could not understand loyalty and traditions in Richmond. A classic case of a local family fighting and winning an up hill battle against the carpetbaggers in a region that still understands what that term means.