I was doing a job in Mobile AL and early on I noticed an Academy Sports store (heard so much about their great prices...). I knew there was one in Birmingham AL, it required special effort for me to visit there. So, I had my big chance and spent a few hours there. I wasn't particularly impressed although I had just gotten a kayak and they sold accessories I was interested in. So, I spent some money. Then they built two stores in my area and I have only visited a few times... usually looking for hiking boots, tennis shoes, and stuff like that.
Cabelas was another. I loved their catalog. I recall when they first started out and you had Gander Mountain, Herters, and Cabelas catalogs. Loved those catalogs spending hours pouring through them. Like you I hoped to visit the main store in Sidney NE (vs BP in Springfield MO). As fortune would have it, I was passing nearby, but the guys I was with were in a hurry. Missed my chance. No stores in my area or the South in general at that time. My very first visit to a Cabelas was late last year when passing north of Atlanta. I was thrilled. Planned the whole trip around having time to stop and browse. Now they are building a store in my area and I suspect it will be like Academy with only occasional visits. The effort involved will be about as much as going to Walmart.
Bass Pro visits were an event. Walking through the parking lot toward the store gave me the same thrill as going to a gunshow... expectation. Loved the stores with one in Nashville TN. Then they built one in Sevierville TN. Still a trip. But between the two places, I probably visited 5-6 times a year. Still a bit of an event. Now they are building a store in my area. Will it be like Academy with only occasional visits?
There is only so much fishing and hunting stuff I am willing to buy. But at this point, as I mentioned above, I like BP.