Jonah Frangiosa reported this story on assignment for the Vermont Community News Group. The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost.

Melanie Racette wound her way between clothing racks holding winter jackets in the Eastern Mountain Sports store in South Burlington, seeking gifts for her children.

The Williston resident was buying recreational gear at the REI store closer to home until Eastern Mountain Sports returned to the Dorset Street commercial corridor late last year, she said.

“I’ve been shopping here more often now that they’re back,” Racette said of Eastern Mountain Sports, which closed a previous store in the city in 2017 and reopened in a different spot in November 2022. “We like quality goods, and that’s what they carry.”

Now, a year into its resurrection in South Burlington, the store is geared up for the holiday shopping season and seeing a resurgence of customers, according to Peter Sielicki, the retailer’s area manager, who oversees the Vermont store as well as two locations in New Hampshire.

“We’ve been humbled by how much we’ve been embraced by the community,” Sielicki, who has worked for EMS for 18 years, said.

EMS’s return comes as the city is working to develop the Dorset Street corridor as an urban hub and retail draw for everything from groceries to artwork. Now dubbed South Burlington City Center, the area encompasses city hall and library and ongoing development of housing. The sporting goods store adds to the cluster of shops — including Target and Kohl’s stores at University Mall across the street — that creates “critical mass,” allowing multiple stores to benefit from the traffic each generates.

“We welcome the number of customers that (Eastern Mountain Sports) has brought to the area and how it contributes to our economy,” Ilona Blanchard, the city’s community development director, said.

The new store took over the abandoned Pier 1 space, flanked by Trader Joe’s and Healthy Living grocery stores on Garden Street. It moved about a quarter mile from the previous store location in a plaza anchored by Barnes & Noble booksellers.

“There’s no negative with having a Trader Joe’s next to you,” Sielicki laughed.

The return of the retailer filled a five-year void for new recreational equipment in South Burlington’s shopping district since the company departed, Blanchard said. The nearby Blue Mall does have a Play It Again Sports consignment store for sporting goods.

“As a brand, they’ve been appreciated by many shoppers of our community,” Blanchard said. “When they closed there was definitely some concern. People had strong associations with the brand.”

Eastern Mountain Sports was previously owned by Eastern Outfitters, a Connecticut-based company that also owned outdoor apparel chain Bob’s Stores. Eastern Outfitters filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and shuttered nearly 50 stores under both banners, citing pressures from online competition. Along with the previous South Burlington store, EMS had closed locations in Rutland and Manchester, as well.

Customers like Racette gravitated to competing retailers such as REI, in the big-box area of Williston off Route 2A, and Outdoor Gear Exchange in downtown Burlington, now with a second location in Essex.

In May 2022, Eastern Mountain Sports was acquired by GoDigital Media Group, a privately held conglomerate that focuses on combining media and technology and specializes in music distribution, while also operating the retail chains. The new owner pledged to grow its retail footprint by 20 percent.

That includes the resurrection of the South Burlington store. The Vermont market is “highly strategic” due to its strong customer base, according to Doug Reinart, chief operating officer and Americas leader for GoDigital, who responded to questions via email.

“These customers have remained loyal fans of the brand since our previous presence in the area several years ago,” Reinart wrote.

The South Burlington location has seen a steady level of business throughout the year, with an uptick in sales when college students returned to the area at the beginning of this school year, according to Sielicki. The winter season also is crucial for outdoor gear retailers in Vermont, fueling sales both because of the holidays and the demand for skiing and snowboarding gear.

“This is a great time of year for our business,” Reinart wrote. “We expect this to be another healthy season for EMS.”