WICKER PARK — It’s true: Austin, Texas-based cooler and outdoor accessories maker Yeti will be opening a store in the former Double Door in Wicker Park.
A public relations spokesman for Yeti said on Thursday that Yeti will move into 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Related: Will Double Door’s Replacement Be Yeti, A Cooler Maker With A Cult Following?
“We are excited about creating yet another gathering spot for locals and out-of-towners to experience the YETI lifestyle — built for the wild,” the spokesman said.
No further details were provided by the spokesman, including when the store aims to open or how big it will be.
This February will mark two years since music club Double Door — arguably Wicker Park’s most iconic business in recent history — shuttered after a long eviction battle with its landlord.
Yeti makes coolers and related products designed to stand up to harsh conditions. It also makes tumblers.
Founded in 2006 by brothers Ryan and Roy Seiders, Yeti is a manufacturer of outdoor lifestyle products that’s developed a cult following for its ice chests, vacuum-insulated stainless-steel tumblers, soft coolers and related accessories.
“We make gear that helps you stay out longer, travel farther, and live harder,” the Yeti website boasts.
Yeti’s Wicker Park store will be its second in the world, following a “flagship experience” that opened in Austin last year. The 8,000 square-foot Austin Yeti was described by Inc. as “more like a Yeti theme park” than a store, with an indoor and outdoor bar and stages.
“We don’t call it a store. It has more in common with an experiential museum than a retail store. We have tons of retail partners out there in Austin and around the country. It’s not like we need another place to sell our products; it’s a place to celebrate our roots,” a Yeti executive told Inc. magazine.
Last month, Yeti became a public company and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker YETI, Bloomberg reported.
Yeti’s Wicker Park landlord declined to comment on the new tenant.
Weighing in on the Yeti’s announcement, one resident wrote on Twitter Thursday: “Are you happy now @Alderman_Moreno[?]”
Ald. Joe Moreno (1st) responded: “Not until we get the Double Door back. I’d rather see a local business, but I can’t control who the owner rents to, no more than I can control who you rent to.”
The 4-story building at 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave., home to Double Door from 1994 to 2017, was sold in June for $9.1 million to CA Ventures, a Loop-based real estate firm.
CA Ventures began to renovate apartments on the three floors above the former music club over the summer, while the lower level remained boarded up until last month.
There are plenty of places locally in Wicker Park and Logan Square to get a Yeti fix — but with the former Double Door offering 4,796 square-foot plus a basement, it could turn into a sizable retail store for Yeti. Some of Yeti’s products can currently be found at Wayward, a store for adventurous travelers at 1551 N. Milwaukee Ave., Foxtrot, a liquor store and cafe at 1722 W. Division St. and Gillman Ace Hardware, 2118 N. Milwaukee Ave.
As for Double Door, Moreno has been telling residents for more than a year now that the club plans to make a return to Wicker Park, after a location in Logan Square fell through, but no further information on that plan has been revealed.