JAX is closing, Bomgaars coming soon

JAX sign seen on the Frontier Mall location near Christmas time, 2024 - Optopolis

After five years in Cheyenne, JAX Outdoor Gear, Farm and Ranch will be closing their Cheyenne store, set to be replaced by Bomgaars, another similar store that already has locations in Wyoming.

Historical glimpse

JAX Outdoor Gear; a company that has ties to both Fort Collins, Colorado and Ames, Iowa; was in the process of expanding to Cheyenne's Frontier Mall in the late 2010s, set to softly open before the end of 2019. Their doors opened on November 22nd, 2019, taking over the former Sears at 1400 Dell Range Boulevard. A deeper look at the history of Sears in Cheyenne was discussed in an Optopolis "DeepDive" on YouTube. This became JAX's first store to be inside a shopping mall, as all other locations were either self-standing suburban-style stores or located in Downtown Fort Collins.

Among the highlights of the Cheyenne JAX were the cafe that took over the Sears Optical Center, the food/kitchen department that replaced the Photo Studio across the hall, the hardware section that replaced a large section of the Sears storage room, and the lawn and garden department that took over the auto center. The store also featured clothing, weaponry, cameras and binoculars, bicycles, army supplies, and so much more. They also had an outdoor farm gear area next to the former Sears Auto Center.

JAX was one of the earliest topics discussed here on Optopolis; it made the second article here on the Optopolis BlogSpot page (being written in classic "blog" format) as well as being an early topic on Optopolis' YouTube channel. A remake/remaster of the store tour was released on the Optopolis YouTube channel in 2020.

JAX announces Cheyenne closure

Optopolis was first informed of the impending closure of JAX by independent news reporter Jeremy Holland of Standby News, and Standby News discovered unrelated-Jeremy Downing's article on Wyoming News Now. This announcement comes as quite a surprise to many Cheyenne residents including Optopolis. In fact, StandbyNews was so surprised that he called the store to make sure that it wasn't a farce or joke, only to quickly find out that the news is true. In the Wyoming News Now article, Downing states that Cheyenne's JAX store is being sold to Bomgaars, effective January 2025.

This Bomgaars, seen here, is located in Loveland, Colorado. - Optopolis

Bomgaars, "a family owned and operated supplier," has 181 store locations according to their locator, including multiple locations in Wyoming and multiple locations in Colorado. Similar to JAX, they are infamous for taking over former stores like Walmart and Kmart, then changing very little about the individual building's appearance--although some locations are freshly-built.

Bomgaars' core departments featured in each store include Lawn and Garden, Clothing and Footwear, Farm, Pet and Automotive, Paint, Hardware, Tools, Housewares, and Toys. Their nearest locations to Cheyenne include Wheatland (former ShopKo) and Torrington (freshly built) in Wyoming, and Wellington (former Ace Hardware) in Colorado.

This former Ace Hardware in Lafayette became one of two JAX stores in Lafayette, Colorado. - Optopolis

JAX's Colorado stores in Fort Collins, Loveland, Lafayette, and Broomfield will remain open; Fort Collins, Loveland, and Lafayette each have two stores, while Broomfield has one. There is also one location in Ames, Iowa, which is expected to continue operating. According to both JAX and Bomgaars, Cheyenne JAX's current workers will have the opportunity to continue working at the Cheyenne store under Bomgaars' banner.

Currently, Bomgaars' store locator doesn't yet display the Cheyenne store, and the JAX Cheyenne store page is still listed in JAX's store locator.

Closing Sale underway and When Bomgaars will open

Upon visiting the Cheyenne location on the night of November 26th, the JAX STORE SOLD SALE--as JAX calls it--is already underway. Signs at the entries and throughout the store indicate that "All clothing, Footwear, Camping, Kitchen, Lawn & Garden, Hardware & Paint, Automotive, and Livestock Equipment," is 20% off, and "All Firearms, Ammunition, Outdoor Power Equipment, Trailers, and Livestock Feed," is 10% off.

"JAX Store Sold Sale" sign seen at the mall entry - Optopolis

The sign clarifies in small print that sales apply to the Cheyenne location only, and do not include things like gift cards, services, and licenses. It also states that, "All sales are final."

According to Jeremy Downing's article where Downing shared a statement from Bomgaars CEO, Torrey Wingert, the plan is to convert JAX to Bomgaars during the first quarter of 2025.

This Buffalo statue was just installed within the last few months. At the start of October, JAX asked on both the Outdoor Gear page and the Farm & Ranch page (and also on Instagram) for people to name the buffalo. It was installed near the Toy department, and the horse statue was moved to another part of the store.

At this time, it's not clear to Optopolis what will happen with the recently-added Buffalo statue, what JAX's final day of business will be, and what day Bomgaars will open. It's also unclear to Optopolis at this time what will come of the cafe.

How do you feel about JAX closing? Will you visit their Colorado stores? Do you think Bomgaars will be able to offer a competitive supply of goods at their new store? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Location: Cheyenne, WY, USA

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