High-profile athletes take entrepreneurial plunge

Lake Superior will become much less intimidating to locals and tourists alike if the owners of a new Duluth business have their way.

Canal Park's historic Endion Station soon will house a year-round, guided-fun and outdoor retail business called Midnight Sun Adventure Co.

The small group of local owners includes Kara Salmela -- a two-time Olympic biathlete -- and will offer Duluth-area tours for sea kayaking, rock climbing, Nordic skiing and other adrenaline-inducing activities.

"We didn't want to come across as just a store. We're selling an outdoor lifestyle," said co-owner Chad Salmela. "We also feel really adamant about being a part of the community. We want, in a beautiful setting, to provide people with the vehicle to get out and shake hands with their environment a little more."

The plan is to open by Memorial Day and host a grand opening to coincide with Grandma's Marathon weekend June 18-19. Midnight Sun will have a running focus as well, offering shoes and lots of clothing, along with its array of climbing gear, skis, kayaks, dry suits and maybe a few surfboards.

It will be a portal to the lake and greater outdoors, Chad Salmela said. People want to experience Lake Superior, but often are too intimidated or don't know how to get started, he said. Guides will take customers on ski trips up frozen rivers, to climb natural rock walls in Duluth Heights and on the Munger Trail and to kayak in the Duluth harbor and off Palisade Head, near Tettegouche State Park.

Their trips, featuring all new equipment, will include safety lessons and last from two hours to all day. Prices run from $35 for a harbor kayak rental to $165 for a climb and kayak package up the North Shore. The company will host a weekly running and kayak club on Tuesday evenings, when anyone can try kayaks without cost.

The store has five partners: Cory and Kara Salmela, Cory's brother Chad Salmela and friends Siiri and Peder Morse. Aside from Kara Salmela, the group has some hefty experience in high-level competition. Chad Salmela is a former U.S. National Team biathlete and worked for the U.S. Athletes Advisory Council at the Athens Summer Games. Cory Salmela was head coach of the U.S. Junior Biathalon Team from 1997 through 2002. Peder and Siiri Morse were NCAA cross-country racers, and Siiri coached at St. Olaf and Carleton colleges. They both worked in sports retail as well. The group has hired local adventurers to work as their guides. Cory and Chad are the sons of David Salmela, the world-renowned architect. The elder Salmela helped them settle on the classic brownstone, and designed the displays and cabinets.

A midnight sun literally is when the sun is visible all night during the summer solstice in the Arctic or Antarctic circles. The name is part homage to a store Siiri's parents once owned and to their shared Scandinavian roots, Chad Salmela said.

The company's inspiration is Piragis Northwoods Co. in Ely, which outfits for Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness trips, has an extensive catalog and organizes paddle vacations around the globe. "We would someday love to do what Piragis does as far as the international trips go," Chad Salmela said. "But that will have to wait for now. Let's get open and stay open first."

Their main worry is attracting customers to an area that attracts little to no drive-by traffic in the off-season. Kara Salmela said compared to gutting out a biathalon -- which is known to be one of sports' toughest games -- the retail business should be cake. "I don't think this will make me cry," she said.