Skip to content

Seattle Culture

Popular Black Diamond Equipment Opens in Fremont

Outdoor gear retailer says the store is its largest and most immersive

By Rob Smith March 7, 2025

Storefront of Black Diamond featuring outdoor gear and apparel on display with mannequins dressed in sportswear and climbing equipment.
Photo courtesy of Black Diamond

A popular and highly regarded outdoor gear purveyor has set up shop in rival REI’s backyard.

Black Diamond Equipment, a Salt Lake City-based outdoor gear retailer that sells, among other items, climbing gear, ski equipment, and apparel, just opened its largest and most immersive store yet in the heart of the Fremont neighborhood. It’s the company’s first store in the Pacific Northwest and its ninth in North America. The grand opening is this weekend.

The flagship store is Black Diamond’s largest. It opens as Google recently announced it was closing its Fremont office and moving employees to South Lake Union, leaving 300,000 square feet of vacant space. 

Black Diamond has already forged local partnerships with RMI Expedition, Evo and Cripple Creek Back Country and joins outdoor companies Evo, the Seattle Bouldering Project and Brooks Running in the neighborhood.

“Seattle is a city that embodies adventure,” says Ethan White, the company’s director of stores. “This store is our way of fully embracing that energy.”

Seattle’s REI Co-op, the nation’s largest consumer cooperative, recently laid off 400 workers and is dealing with labor issues.

Black Diamond is the second popular retailer in the past month to announce a store opening in Seattle. San Francisco menswear company Taylor Stitch said last month it would open a retail outlet in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, its first outside of the Bay Area.

Follow Us

Microsoft Awards $5M Worth Of Grants To AI innovators

Microsoft Awards $5M Worth Of Grants To AI innovators

The grants are part of the company’s 50th anniversary this year

Microsoft has given 20 organizations $50,000 each as part of its AI for Good grants program. The grants — part of an initiative to celebrate Microsoft’s 50th anniversary this year — recognize organizations for their innovations in artificial intelligence. The organizations — who applied for the grants earlier this year — receive resources to help…

Seattle Commute Survey Shows More Office Activity

Seattle Commute Survey Shows More Office Activity

Both transit travel and driving trips are on the rise

Downtown Seattle foot traffic still isn’t nearly what it was prior to the pandemic, but more people are commuting to offices on a regular basis. The 2024 Commute Seattle Survey finds that both transit travel and drive-alone trips are on the rise as remote working drops. Citywide, the percentage of people reporting that their jobs…

Seattle Pride Seeks Support As Sponsorships Dry Up

Seattle Pride Seeks Support As Sponsorships Dry Up

The nonprofit has launched a fundraising campaign to make up for a $350,000 deficit

For Patti Hearn, no amount is too small. Every little bit helps. Hearn, executive director of Seattle Pride, is working feverishly to bridge a $350,000 fundraising gap because of shifts in corporate sponsorship. Seattle Pride — a nonprofit foundation that produces the annual Seattle Pride Parade and a slew of other events, including Seattle Pride…

Tapped Out

Tapped Out

Washington lawmakers propose doubling beer and wine taxes

You might be paying significantly more for your pint next year.  House Bill 2079, introduced by Representative Lauren Davis (D–District 32), would raise the tax on beer from $4.78 to $9.56 per barrel for most breweries. The bill also proposes doubling taxes on wine from 1 cent to 2 cents per liter and increasing taxes…