Joe's Sports, Outdoor & More, formerly G.I. Joe's, said it plans to host community-wide grand openings for new stores in Bellevue and Kirkland, Washington, beginning with ribbon-cuttings at each store at 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 5, 2007.

“We're excited to bring our unique combination of brand name
merchandise, selection and excellent service to customers in Bellevue and Kirkland,” said Norm Daniels, Joe's President & CEO. “These stores complement our other Puget Sound locations, and feature innovative layouts which highlight our various departments and elite service shops. Sports &
outdoor enthusiasts of all abilities will be able to find what they need quickly and easily.”

The grand openings coincide with a chain-wide 55-Year Anniversary celebration, in addition to each having their own celebrity appearances, giveaways and product demonstrations. Customers are invited to attend the 9
a.m. Thursday ribbon-cutting ceremonies, and, following that, gift cards worth between $5 and $500 will be given to the first 500 customers through the door at each store. There will be appearances by Seahawks players Jordan Babineaux, Chris Spencer, and Josh Brown; special BMX bike shows, Strongman demonstrations presented by Thule, and many more events throughout the weekend.

Robert Woeck, manager of the Bellevue location, said, “These stores each have really good Sport Services Shops where you can have skis and boards tuned up, bikes repaired or roof racks installed by skilled technicians. It's a great new resource for active people in the community.”

The two new stores, in Bellevue and Kirkland, Washington, bring the company's total number of stores to 27. Each store will offer about 60,000 square feet of brand name gear in their newly refurbished buildings. The new stores were both formerly Larry's Markets. The Bellevue Joe's store is
located at 699 120th Ave. NE, near the intersection of Bel-Red Rd. and NE 8th St. The Kirkland Joe's is at 12321 120th Place NE, near the intersection of NE 124th St. and NE 120th Ave.