ALMOST
HEAVEN
The newest
Bass Pro Shop in
the country opens
in Morgantown,
West Virginia.
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When Johnny Morris opened up his very first Bass Pro Shop back in 1972, it's fairly safe to say he couldn't have dreamed of what his modern-day stores would look like. However, we're pretty sure that deep in his entrepreneurial mind he was quite certain if he expanded to future locations down the road, they would most assuredly be larger than store #1.
Store #1? Eight square feet in the back of his father's liquor store in Springfield, Missouri.
Today, Bass Pro Shop is a privately held company made up of over 180 locations that employee over 40,000 people throughout the United States and Canada. Bass Pro Shop stores are the No. 1 tourist destination in three states – including its flagship “grandaddy” store in Springfield, Missouri that welcomes more than 4 million visitors annually. Bass Pro Shop is in the top five tourist destinations in nine states.
Around Southeast Painters, we're all big fans of Bass Pro Shops. We have a location in Chattanooga that we all frequent on a regular basis. So, needless to say, when presented the opportunity to work on their location to be built in Morgantown, West Virginia ...we were, as they say, "plum giddy" around the ol' shop.
We didn't know much about Morgantown other than it was the home of the University of West Virginia and then one of the guys remembered it was the birthplace of Don Knotts. But later, we discovered that Pat McAfee played football for the Mountaineers and it appeared to be one beautiful part of the country. We found ourselves totally in love with Morgantown before we ever made our first trip.
Our first impression when we finally drove into town?
We began our part of the project in May of 2021. Along the months leading into fall, we took several road trips up that way. Chattanooga, up through Knoxville, and on into Bristol ...sometimes stopping to grab a burger there at the Burger Bar, be sure to click that link for a great story. Then back on the trail passing through beautiful mountains and past rivers ...yes, it's almost like a John Denver song. There were several of these road trips until we finished up on October 24th, 2021.
The Bass Pro Shop folks are absolute masters at bringing the outdoors inside with massive interior log and rock work, and large aquariums and water features stocked with native fish species. Each shop is home to an extensive collection of museum-quality fish and wildlife exhibits, alongside historic photos, artifacts, and memorabilia that pays tribute to the outdoor heritage of each store's particular location.
Yep, it’s like Disney World for outdoor enthusiasts and we were so honored to help bring the project to life, it was truly an amazing experience for us.
Interior Work:
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Gypsum Board Ceilings
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Gypsum Board Walls
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Exposed Structure Ceilings
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Boat Center Exposed Structure Ceilings
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Floor Striping
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Hollow Metal Doors and Frames
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OH Door Frames
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Metal Stair Components
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Columns
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Stained Wood Doors/Wood Base and Misc Items
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Hand Rails at Boat Center/Aquarium Rails and Walls
Exterior Work:
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Hollow Metal Doors and Frames
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OH Door Frames
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Louvre and Flag Pole base
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Concrete Masonry Textured Walls
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Fiberglass Logs Columns and Brackets
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Lap and Shake Siding Misc Wood Trims
As always, we used a large variety of Sherwin Williams throughout the facility.
Thank You!
We would like to thank Bass Pro Shops for the opportunity to be a part of this very special project. We would also like to thank EMJ Construction, the general contractor on the job. We've been fortunate to work with EMJ many times over the years. They're extremely good at what they do and not only are they business associates, but we consider them friends as well. Along with EMJ, we would like to thank Ken Boyd and Jared Morgan, foremen on the Bass Pro Shop-Morgantown project.
Thanks for everything guys!
We’ve been painting the south for over thirty years, and it was finally great to meet you Morgantown!
We look forward to coming back.
