Lewiston is losing Eddie Bauer shop

June 25 will be the last day for Lewiston’s Eddie Bauer clothing store.

Customers began streaming in Thursday not long after a sign was hung on the door announcing the closure, cashing in on going-out-of-business discounts on coats, shirts, pants and other items.

The fewer than 10 employees at Lewiston’s Eddie Bauer had been informed of the closure 1½ to 2 weeks ago, said Mandy Wells, the store’s assistant manager.

The store opened in 2007 at 2634 Nez Perce Drive in a 6,500-square-foot space at a complex that became the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley hub for stores selling new clothing for men and women after the departures of Macy’s, J.C. Penney, Shopko and KMart.

Ross Dress for Less, Maurices, Famous Footwear, Old Navy, T.J. Maxx and STB Boutique are in the same complex.

Eddie Bauer will be the third chain to leave Lewiston in two months. Just a few blocks away, Lewiston’s Red Lobster has been closed since the middle of May as part of downsizing that involved more than 50 locations, prior to the chain filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Lewiston’s Shari’s Cafe and Pies, just across the road from the shuttered Red Lobster, closed two weeks later.

Lewiston’s Eddie Bauer is one of more than 250 locations in the United States. The store has two other stores in Idaho, both in Boise, and 13 in the state of Washington where it is headquartered in the Seattle area.

Eddie Bauer has been a part of Authentic Brands Group since 2021. Authentic Brands is a company with a wide range of ventures such as Sports Illustrated, Reebok, Brooks Brothers, Nautica, Juicy Couture, Aeropstale, Forever 21, Nine West, Izod and Van Heusen.

Also in its portfolio are brands of celebrities including Shaquille O’Neal, David Beckham, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali.

The heritage of the more than 100-year-old Eddie Bauer brand fits with the culture of the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley, where many residents spend much of their leisure time outdoors.

Early in Eddie Bauer’s career, he sold and strung tennis rackets at a gun shop owned by someone else before opening his own store, according to Eddie Bauer’s website.

After being struck with hypothermia on a winter fish outing in 1936, Bauer invented a down jacket for the Eddie Bauer brand.

Seven years later, he designed a down flight suit for the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.

Eddie Bauer outfitted a number of cold weather expeditions, including the first team to spend the winter at the South Pole, the first American ascent of Mount Everest, and the first ascent of that mountain’s east face.

Bauer was married to Stine Bauer for 57 years, who like her husband was an avid hunter and angler. She is credited with Bauer for having a focus on women’s gear for outdoor adventures, including a down jacket for women that was patented in 1944, according to Eddie Bauer’s website.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.