North Dakota-based sporting goods retailer Scheels has signed a lease to occupy the 210,000-square-foot former Boston Store space at Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa.
Scheels announced on Friday, along with with Mayfair owner Brookfield Properties, that it will open the new location in spring 2027 following a full renovation of the space, which has sat vacant since the Boston Store closed in 2018, when its parent company The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. went out of business.
Scheels has 34 store locations nationwide, including two in Wisconsin, located in Appleton and Eau Claire. The Mayfair store will be nearly double the square footage of the other Wisconsin locations, according to the Friday press release.
Scheels is considered a destination retailer with stores that feature a number of special attractions, including a candy shop, an arcade and cafe and specialty shops offering services such as golf club and baseball bat fittings, archery bow technicians and bike mechanic services.
“After the success we’ve seen in Appleton and Eau Claire, Wauwatosa is the perfect fit for our next location,” Scheels CEO Matt Hanson said in the release. “We look forward to working with the city of Wauwatosa and Brookfield Properties throughout the building process, becoming new partners in the Milwaukee community for years to come.”
The Wauwatosa Scheels store is expected to employ more than 500, the majority as employee-owners hired locally, the retailer said.
“Mayfair Mall has always been Wisconsin’s premier shopping destination,” said Wauwatosa mayor Dennis McBride, in a statement. “Scheels’ choice of Mayfair underscores Wauwatosa’s role as a key economic hub in southeastern Wisconsin. This investment strengthens our local economy and creates new opportunities for businesses and residents across the region.”
The store is part of a broader redevelopment planned for Mayfair’s southern end, where Milwaukee developer Barrett Lo Visionary Development has proposed a multi-phase project with up to 900 apartment units and additional retail space in four towers.
