A downtown Fredericksburg specialty outdoor retailer is celebrating its 10-year anniversary this week with some big moves.
River Rock Outfitter plans to leave its location at 215 William St. at the end of January, said April Peterson, who owns the business with her husband, Keith.
“We’ve had a great five years in the space, but it is time for us to grow!” April Peterson wrote in an email. “We were a bit limited by the configuration of our current space and had to give up carrying larger gear like kayaks and stand-up paddle boards (SUPs). In addition, our very successful used gear program, Re-Boot, continues to expand and we would love more space to continue to offer this option to our customers.”
River Rock Outfitter will open a downtown store at 708 Caroline St., next to the former Visitor Center building (plans for which have not been announced).
Ava Laurenne Bride plans to expand into the current River Rock space at 215 William, said business owner Gabe Rivera. Ava Laurenne will then occupy all four floors of the buildings, which Gabe and Wendy Rivera own. Ava Laurenne also now has a shop in Greenville, S.C. Gabe Rivera said they are looking forward to unveiling new facets of the business in the William Street space.
The re-location solution the Petersons landed on was to open two spaces: one downtown and one in Central Park.
The downtown location will be at 708 Caroline St., the former location for Beck’s Antiques & Books, which is now an online antiques store. Foode owners Beth Black and Joy Crump purchased that building from Bill and Susan Beck this summer. An upstairs apartment is leased separately, and River Rock will be on the lower level. Black said she and Crump are thrilled to have River Rock as a tenant.
Peterson said the new downtown store is expected to open Jan. 10. At that location, she said, River Rock will focus primarily on outdoor-lifestyle clothing and footwear, adventure travel and day hiking. She said they are excited about the large courtyard in the back of the building, which will allow them to host outdoor clinics and activities.
River Rock’s second location will be in Central Park next to Five Below.
The second location will be at 1382 Carl D. Silver Parkway, next to Five Below in Central Park. Peterson said that space is larger than the current location and will provide enough room for River Rock to bring back kayaks, SUPs and additional gear, and to host clinics, workshops and events.
They are excited about the easy parking and the growing number of outdoor-oriented stores nearby (she cited Academy Sports + Outdoors, Fleet Feet, Lucky Road, Wild Birds Unlimited and Trek Bicycle). They expect to open that store April 1.
River Rock officially turns 10 years old Thursday.
“We look forward to the next decade in business!” April Peterson wrote. “Our growth will allow us to hire additional staff, provide more outdoor education opportunities, and expand our adventure programs.”
Bill Freehling covers local business for the Fredericksburg Free Press. He can be reached at: [email protected].
