Grassroots Member- Massey’s Comes Home to New Orleans

Posted: 04/10/2008 In Category: Outdoor Retail

Written By: Tyler Donaldson

Massey’s comes home to New Orleans and restores a century old building in a flooded neighborhood

New Orleans, La. April 10, 2008- Massey’s Professional Outfitters is proud to announce the grand opening of their fourth location, in the heart of Katrina-savaged New Orleans.

The store is in a restored 1907 warehouse originally called the Riley Building, a printer and distributor of text books in the early 20th century. The 28,000 sq/ft building sat vacant since it was abandoned and flooded under 4’ of water during Katrina.

Massey’s picked the location based on the need for additional warehouse space and the proximity to New Orleans’ only inner-city recreational areas; Bayou St John and City Park. The newly restored streetcar line, passing directly in front of the store, also was the main priority for office, warehouse, and retail staff. “Our staff can walk less than 100 feet to the streetcar and be in the French Quarter in 10 minutes.” says Eddie Gianelloni, New Orleans store manager.

It is also notable that tourists, not in short supply in New Orleans, can also take the same scenic streetcar ride from the French Quarter to the new Massey’s location for a quick gear purchase and on to City Park, the New Orleans Museum of Art, or paddling on Bayou St John. Massey’s will rent boats for use on Bayou St John.

A fringe benefit for the new location is 15,000 sq/ft of upstairs warehouse space, accessible by freight elevator. “New Orleans is a land-locked city and sprawling warehouse space is a poor use of land. Finding the perfect configuration was really fortuitous.” says Bobby Johnson, partner.

The building itself was restored mostly by Massey’s staff members. The goal was not to erase the century-old façade and interior, but to restore it to the original state. After removing almost all of the interior walls and layers of drywall and plaster from the building’s structural interior, the building is left in a state that’s as close to the original state as it has been in 75 years. “90% of what we did was restoration. There were virtually zero new materials used in the building. We even built half of the display fixtures in an on site fabrication / welding shop.” says Mike Massey, 3rd generation owner.

For more information on Massey’s contact Mike Massey at 504-717-9540 or mike.massey@masseys.net.

Massey’s Professional Outfitters was founded in 1972 and specializes in full service outfitting for all types of adventure travel. Massey’s is based in New Orleans and operates 4 Louisiana locations, each stocked with an unrivalled selection of gear and clothing for skiing, snowboarding, canoeing, kayaking, hiking, backpacking, and world travel. Our professional staff, which consists almost entirely of outdoor enthusiasts, has outfitted tens of thousands of customers over the course of three generations. The philosophy to sell only the highest quality merchandise from top manufacturers and consistently provide first class service to everyone has earned a loyal following that continues to grow daily. Visit us online at www.masseysoutfitters.com. Locations include New Orleans, Metairie, Baton Rouge and Covington.

Massey’s Professional Outfitters is a proud Member of the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, a group of independent outdoor shops dedicated to the sustainability of the specialty outdoor channel and the quality of the outdoor enthusiast’s experience. www.grassrootsoutdoors.com

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