Wichita has a new spot to Rendezvous, and it’s in part of the former Johnston’s space

Thanks to his time both as a Boy Scout and a scouting educator, Zach Petersen said he spent more than 1,000 days and nights backpacking before he turned 18.

“I just fell in love with being outside.”

Now, he wants to help others enjoy the outdoors through a new store called Rendezvous Adventure Outfitters, which will sell outdoor clothing and gear and be a resource for people looking for outdoor adventures.

“A lot of that will actually just be, ‘Come in, and let’s chat,’ ” Petersen said.

The store will open this fall in about 5,000 square feet of the former Johnston’s space at the Collective, which is at 12111 E. 21st St., just east of K-96.

Petersen used to work at Backwoods, the longtime Wichita outdoor store that closed in 2017, along with REI and Bliss Climbing & Fitness. He also helped at the small Rendezvous store that a former Backwoods manager had in Lindsborg for several years.

Though Petersen is borrowing the Rendezvous name, he said that’s all his store shares with the former Lindsborg shop.

He said the name is important.

“The idea is to just bring people together,” he said. “We just want the camaraderie.”

In part because of his past jobs and in part because of events, classes and a film festival he hosts about outdoor life, Petersen said, “I have a huge community already.”

It’s one he wants to grow.

“It’s been something I’ve wanted to do for Wichita basically since we closed (the) Backwoods store down.”

He said he’s benefited from mentors at Backwoods who gave him an education in the outdoors, but he said the number of people in Wichita who can teach others how to “enjoy the world that we have and do it safely has greatly diminished.”

Petersen said he now wants to be that resource along with providing gear and rentals, such as bear spray, bear canisters and satellite communicators, that might otherwise be too expensive for people to buy if they don’t hike or camp regularly.

He said he doesn’t want people to “be priced out of being safe in the outdoors.”

With so many new national competitors in Wichita, such as Scheels and REI, now may seem like a particularly difficult time for a local outdoor store to open, but Petersen said that’s not how he sees it.

He said all of the retailers are locked into the same pricing, but he said he believes he’ll be able to provide a depth of product that the others don’t.

“It kind of leaves this big opening to step in.”

Rendezvous will sell clothing and footwear for hiking and trail running and other outdoor sports.

“All the gear that you can imagine under the sun,” Petersen said.

He said the items are sustainable in that they are built to last.

For instance, the Outdoor Research clothing line has a lifetime guarantee, and Petersen said he can replace clothing or order new items for customers even if they didn’t buy the clothing at his store.

He said other brands offer similar deals, including Eagle Creek luggage, Darn Tough socks and Osprey backpacks.

Petersen said people shouldn’t have to buy new gear each time they hike. He said clothing can last a lifetime “as long as your waistline doesn’t change a whole crazy amount.”

He said a lot of the items he wears have the benefits of hiking clothing but look like business casual wear.

“They look almost identical.”

Petersen said a Rendezvous niche will be the store’s ability to help customers plan trips, whether that’s a particular hike or an entire itinerary.

A lot of that will be free, such as tips for things to do along a trip that you wouldn’t know unless you’d done it before or spent hours on the internet.

If a customer wants the store to book the whole trip, such as lodging, there will be a fee.

Petersen said he also will offer training programs for people to do specific climbs or high-altitude hiking.

He said there will be a focus on education and community hikes.

The Rendezvous website is under construction, and for now, Petersen said all the information for the film series and classes is on the store’s Facebook page.

Petersen added that the back of Rendezvous connects to the Redbud Trail.

“It drops straight on to the bike trail,” he said.

“We’re really excited to be a part of the community.”