Now, THIS is a surprise. Just when you thought it was totally dead, Gander Outdoors IS opening a Cedar Rapids store after all.

The "new" store will be opening in the former Gander Mountain location in Cedar Rapids. Not in the brand new building erected along Blairs Ferry Road NE for a new Gander Mountain (that still sits vacant), but in the previous Gander location at 2140 Edgewood Road SW. The announcement came via CEO Marcus Lemonis. The Cedar Rapids reveal is about a minute-and-a-half into the video:

It's been quite a last 15 months or so for the outdoor store chain in our city. In September of 2016 came word that the chain would build a new store in northeast Cedar Rapids. It would replace the Edgewood Road location... where Gander is now returning. Stay with me, here.

The timing of the above news wasn't great as five months later came rumors of an impending bankruptcy.

By May of 2017, we had serious doubts the new building was ever going to open. Then, just a matter of days later came what certainly appeared to be good news.

August brought the promise of a fall 2017 opening.

Fast forward two months to October and the signage comes down off the still vacant behemoth of a building on Blairs Ferry Road. Again, a week later came the official news the building would never open, at least not as a Gander store.

Now the news comes that Gander Outdoors will be in the location where it was previously when the company was known as Gander Mountain. The goal is to have it open by the end of May.

I hope this latest piece of news ends up being a reality. I'm sure I'm not the only one who won't fully believe it until the doors open. After all, the last 15 months have told us to be cautious and patient.

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