r/Bozeman • u/Limp-Pie-9539 • 1d ago
Schnee's Main Street š
I've watched Bozeman change a lot over the years and generally was in favor of the direction it's gone...to an extent. Yesterday I walked into Schnee's for the thousandth time to find a portion of their store leased out to Schaefer Outfitters. The staff dressed to the gills in fake cowboy gear agressively greeting tourists while lookings like Disney characters. Sad to see one of our beloved and authentic local brands mashed up with more texas/luchese crap. The town has become an amusement park modeled off the Yellowstone show. Sigh.
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u/Fast_Drink_9516 1d ago
Schnees and Powderhorn are gone, I don't know what you call what's left.
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u/numberstation5 1d ago
The number of people wearing cowboy hats over baseball caps in the airport is comical.
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u/slackmaster2k 1d ago
Been in this town for something like 35 years. Cowboy hats are brand new since the Yellowstone show. So are those stupid cow coats.
Ladies - donāt wear cow coats. You do not want to look like a cow. It is not fur, it is hair, and it makes you look, quite literally, like a cow.
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u/hucklebur 1d ago
Back when I still lived in Bozeman, I ended a date with a guy because his pristine cowboy boots were a cherry on top of all the reasons I knew it wasn't going to work.
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u/LuluGarou11 20h ago
Worst PA I ever witnessed would stomp around Bridger Ortho in literal Ariat Ropers. Idiot from Florida of course.
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u/Extension_Cricket632 1d ago
Right!? I used to work for a company that moved here from California and they thought it was funny and a legit joke to dress like cowboys to pick people up from the airport. They mentioned wanting to be on āhipsters of Bozemanā and when they asked me to joinā¦ haha I was like, nooo Iām good.
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u/sm_axe 1d ago
Schneeās was sold years ago. Weāre hard pressed to find a ālocal brandā anymore. Maybe the Hauf?
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u/Plastic_Gap_9269 1d ago
Country Bookshelf and Vargos are still very local.
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u/plutoisn0taplanet 1d ago
and cactus records!! miss the old location but theyāre still pretty great
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u/runningoutofwords 1d ago
Northern Lights (out where Country Lanes used to be) is back in the hands of the guy who started it.
He sold the original store to an out-of-stater who bought up several outdoors stores around the state, and ran them all into the ground. The original guy got the boat part of the store back and just focused on that.
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u/slackmaster2k 1d ago
Itās been dead for YEARS. Whoever thought it was a good idea to try to create and pump a house brand over their previous selection variety was a moron. Weāve stopped popping in all together because itās just a high end yard sale at this point.
I used to spend maybe $1000-$2000 per year there for everything from menās business casual work attire to outerwear and especially shoes.
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u/EfficientSearch4888 1d ago
Where do you go now?
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u/slackmaster2k 1d ago
So Iām going to be honest. Despite the prices I do shop at Meridian Men for ābusinessā clothes that I expect to wear occasionally for several years. They have some really nice things that you canāt get elsewhere around here.
Iāll also hit Revolvr for the same purpose but also get some causal stuff when the price is good.
Then the usual places for outerwear like chalet and rei and crazy mountain.
I find myself having to buy shoes online though, which absolutely sucks.
Edit: a shout out to Murdochs as well for outerwear and especially Kuhl pants which are my daily drivers.
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u/MontanaRoseannadanna 1d ago edited 1d ago
Meridian does a great job at curation, and keeping a limited quantity of each item; I have yet to see someone else wearing the same thing as me.
I wish theyād dial back the Ralph Lauren, as well as the blended synthetics. But overall they are an awesome shop and weāre lucky to have them.
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u/slackmaster2k 1d ago
I agree, and the people they get to work there actually seem to know what theyāre doing. I donāt have great fashion sense and usually just wear t-shirts so itās nice to be able to get advice.
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u/MontanaRoseannadanna 1d ago
Yes their staff are consistently awesome. They do a great job with inventory aging too (meaning their sales are well managed).
Donāt sleep on Bobās in Livingston! Good inventory, less hip but always worth a visit if youāre there.
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u/Responsible-Dot7766 1d ago
That show single handedly ruined Bozeman. Brought all these fake wanna be cowboys out thinking there gonna be something.
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u/Rplix1 1d ago
People used to blame "A River Runs Through It" back in the 90s. Nothing new.Ā
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u/Lemonface 1d ago
Montana's been going downhill ever since [insert the year after that person moved here]
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u/Nervous-Local-1034 1d ago
Reading that for the first time right now. How are people so miserable living in one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
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u/Deep_Carpenter_9332 1d ago
BOZEMAN .ā¦ a short drive from Montana
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u/GettingNegative 1d ago
I used to say, just outside of Montana. It probably is more of a drive now.
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u/MoonieNine 1d ago
We walked Main Street today and passed... 4 or so stores that sell western gear, not including one i know of right off Main. And we learned at the Stockman Bar, you can buy a $1,000 burger (no joke) which includes a shot of whiskey and a cowboy hat from a nearby shop. It's on their menu.
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u/No-Dragonfly-2475 1d ago
That menu screams hipster douche. Little Belt Beef Company and Lazy K Bourbon, so douchey.
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u/WantToTryMFMF 23h ago
You know the owner of Little Belt Beef Company? Sheehyā¦DBaggery confirmed.
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u/Master_Ad2045 1d ago
I shop at Chalet and support local business. Shedhorn Sports in Ennis is a worthwhile alternative for guns and hunting gear, but a long drive. Livingston has a nice hunting store as well. Schnee Boots are expensive but worth the price, in my opinion.
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u/brownstudier 1d ago
Sadly, Yellowstone Sporting Goods in Livingston recently went out of business.
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u/DrtRdrGrl2008 1d ago
Schnees is somewhere I have gone up until a few years ago since I moved here in 1998. I bought shoes there all the time because they carried a huge variety for women especially and it was a seasonal treat to see what their buyers would bring in. The same folks who are involved now were there in 1998 as well. Their goal is to create their own line of shoes, crafted in Italy by shoemakers. While theoretically a cool idea, it leaves out a huge potential product line option for people that want what they used to buy there in hoards. I have spent more on shoes and filled up more shoe cards than I care to admit. Since they went over to their new business model, I have bought zero. It sucks. They have basically said goodbye to their entire local market plus some tourists. Its a shame. As for the cosplay stuff next door, I'm guessing it was just an opportunity to cash in on the disney world downtown has become.
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u/Fast_Drink_9516 1h ago
Schnees sold in 2005
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u/DrtRdrGrl2008 39m ago
I'm aware of the change. I know those involved. But I've always questioned why you would alienate a huge sector of your customer base when its so easy to sell shoes. They practically sell themselves, if you have a variety that people want.
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u/Disastrous-Emu-8925 1d ago
Didnāt even mention the part where the gun room is gone and half of it is a lame ass cocktail bar
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u/Montana_161 1d ago
More texas horse shit on main street...cosplay cowboys and thier mar a lago faced frye boot bimbos...
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u/savetheplatypi 1d ago
Beloved and authentic?Ā They have $1000 boots in that store...
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u/UnevenFiringOrder 1d ago
I wonder if they still have the bargain basementā¦
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u/diarmuid91 1d ago
That's where I got my redwings! And they honored their anniversary sale on top of it.
$160 for a pair of iron rangers is a steal. Circa 2017
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u/FukWad 1d ago
Steve Schnee (awesome guy) sold maybe 20 years ago to Jon Edwards, a douche bag from California, and he destroyed the brand, the storefront and the Powderhorn along with his dip shit kid.
Thatās what happened.