Orvis to keep operations in Roanoke while relocating warehouse

Despite the purchase of its Roanoke warehouse late last year, Orvis plans to stay active in Roanoke, regional officials confirmed this week.

The Vermont-based retailer known for its fly-fishing equipment is moving its local operations into about 100,000 square feet at a facility in the Northeast quadrant of the city, according to a Monday announcement by the Roanoke Regional Partnership.

The City of Roanoke Economic Development Authority supported the move to Kyle Avenue with a $50,000 grant to “retain 60 jobs and four decades of legacy operations,” the economic development organization wrote in a news release.

Orvis has had a relationship with the city since 1987, when the company purchased property at 1711 Blue Hills Drive from the city for $100,000, where it had a distribution center.

At the end of 2025, an entity associated with North Carolina-based Coca-Cola Consolidated, the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the United States, purchased the 334,000-square-foot Orvis warehouse on Blue Hills Drive for about $29.7 million.

In recent months, the family-owned Orvis has faced choppy waters. In October 2025, officials told Fox News the company planned to close 31 stores and five outlets.

“Like many in retail, Orvis’ business model faced a sizable shift with the introduction of an unprecedented tariff landscape,” Orvis President Simon Perkins said in a statement then.

In February, the city’s director of economic development declined to comment on the lease or the sale of the warehouse. Orvis also did not respond to a request for an interview.

But clearly, negotiations were happening behind the scenes.

Spa Properties, a Pulaski-based real estate company, purchased the building on Kyle Avenue in 2022 for $3 million, according to city property records. Constructed in 1955, the building was expanded in 1964 and 1995, a real estate listing stated.

Robert Stenz, owner of Spa Properties, said Friday that Orvis plans to lease about 125,000 square feet of the building, leaving about 85,000 square feet available for occupancy.

Stenz said Orvis’ lease officially begins in August but declined to discuss the lease terms. Kyle Avenue is located about 10 minutes away from the former Orvis operations site. Westport Axle, a manufacturing, logistics and warehousing services supplier for the heavy truck and automotive industries, occupied the building for about 15 years until 2024, according to Stenz.

In its Monday release, the Roanoke Regional Partnership noted Orvis has maintained its fulfillment and operational functions in Roanoke while other retailers have consolidated fulfillment operations with third-party providers. The decision, the partnership stated, “honors the company’s longstanding ties to the region.”

Perkins called the company’s Roanoke-based team “something special” in the news release.

“Our customers expect an exceptional experience with Orvis, and this team works tirelessly and takes extraordinary pride in bringing that to life every single day,” he said. “Their expertise, care and dedication is a true competitive advantage, and this investment reflects how deeply Orvis values the experience they deliver to our customers.”

For years, the Roanoke region has worked to build a brand associated with the outdoors.  The area is home to numerous outdoors amenities and outdoors-related companies, businesses that frequently showcase their products at the annual Roanoke GO Fest, a multiday celebration of everything outdoors.

Orvis’ presence here was part of the branding effort, according to Roanoke Regional Partnership President and CEO John Hull.

“When a company with this kind of legacy faces a transition, it is a credit to Orvis leadership and our local partners that the answer was to double down on Roanoke,” Hull said in a statement. “This brand is woven into the fabric of our outdoor identity, and we are proud they chose to reinvest.”

On Feb. 17, Roanoke City Council unanimously voted to continue a lease with Orvis for its prominent retail store at the Center in the Square Garage. The lease for about 3,000 square feet runs until Jan. 31, 2027, with an option for up to four one-year renewal periods.

Orvis declined to comment Friday.