Cabela’s Opening in Moncton, NB

On Thursday, Jeff, our friend Chrissy, and I, all took the day off work to travel to Moncton, New Brunswick for Cabela’s opening of their first store in Atlantic Canada.

When we were originally planning this trip, we thought we would just get up early so we could be one of the first 300 people in line to get a gift card. That idea dissolved pretty quickly when we heard about the first person lining up on Monday!

We instead got up at a perfectly respectful 4am and met Chrissy in Truro at 6:30 for a breakfast at the Big Stop.

It was a quick drive over to Moncton. Cabela’s has a really nice location, within view from the TransCanada highway. Here’s the scene as we pulled into the lot:

The back of the line.

Cabela’s, 90 minutes before opening

Side view of the line.

We took our spot at the back of line. As time wore on, closer to the 10am opening, the crowd was getting thicker and thicker as people kept moving forward.

Cabela’s staff and grand opening celebrity guests walked the sides of the thick line, tossing freebies into the mob. We missed out on the shirts and hats, but Jeff got a little flashlight keychain, I ended up with 3 bags of beef jerky, and we got a camouflage beer koozie that I stuck on the bottle of water they gave out.

Free jerky!

Free beer koozie.

The mob between us and the front of the line.

Us at the back of the line.

Just before 10, the speeches started. I don’t think anyone was in the mood for speech when they were smushed into a cattle pen, but luckily they were short and sweet and soon enough the mob started working its way into the store.

Cabela’s store front.

When we walked in, all their staff, and Mrs. Cabela herself, were inside the front doors, clapping and cheering for us, like we were finishing a marathon.

The three of us quickly split apart and went to separate areas of the store. Jeff and Chrissy both had a shopping list. I was just walking aimlessly. I tried on some Muck boots so I’d know my size, and then checked out all the latest camping gadgets.

This store is just a fraction of the size of the Cabela’s store we visited in Dundee, Michigan (see that post), but still had a taxidermy mountain.

I think this was the mule deer.

There were also sheep, a beaver, an elk, caribou, and a coyote.

There were people who came from as far away as Quebec City and Newfoundland for the opening of this store!

The clothing selection was much smaller, as this is a smaller store, but it was okay. Mostly just Cabela’s branded clothing, and North Face.

I picked out a sweatshirt, and Chrissy and Jeff got all the items on their list. Luckily the line to get out of the store was a bit shorter than the line to get into the store (but still long). We left at 11:30 and were hungry so we headed to St. Hubert’s for some chicken!

Look at this on the menu, a Caesar with a chicken wing skewer.

Strawberry daiquiri.

After all that Cabela’s excitement, I took up the waitress on her suggestion of a strawberry daiquiri. Chrissy too!

After a day of first for Chrissy’s (first Cabela’s visit, first meal at St. Hubert’s), we took her to a Costco for the first time where we awed her at the number of toilet paper rolls we can buy at one time.

After that, we headed for home, and were all the way back in Truro when we remembered the list of things we wanted to get in Moncton. Oh well, I suppose we’ll have to go back in August when Bass Pro Shops is supposed to open their doors!

Thanks to Jeff, our driver for the day!

Here is some news coverage of the opening: