A national outdoor retailer is set to open its first Iowa location this weekend in Dubuque’s Asbury Plaza.

Sierra will host its grand opening at 8 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, at 2475 Northwest Arterial. The store offers a variety of outdoor gear and activewear for all ages and has more than 80 locations nationwide.

“A lot of people in this community enjoy hiking, enjoy being in the outdoors,” said Joe Bell, director of corporate communications for Asbury Plaza majority owner Cafaro Co. “So this fills a niche in the area that’s been empty for a while.”

The Dubuque location will open in the 20,000-square-foot space that previously housed Bed Bath & Beyond. It is the retailer’s first location in Iowa.

Sierra started as a catalog company in Reno, Nev., in 1986, with the first retail store opening in 1990. In 2012, the chain was acquired by TJX Companies Inc., which also operates T.J. Maxx, HomeGoods and Marshalls.

The new store will offer a variety of clothing and equipment related to hiking, canoeing, fishing and more. Keeping in line with other TJX stores, its merchandise is meant to offer items at a discounted price.

“We are excited to officially open our doors this weekend and become the newest retail option for Dubuque shoppers, especially as this is our first opening in the state,” Elisa Pouliot, Sierra’s associate vice president of brand marketing, said in a news release. “With cold weather and the holidays approaching, there’s no better time to start shopping Sierra.”

The company was unable to provide additional comment by the Telegraph Herald’s press time.

Sierra is one of three current or soon-to-open TJX storefronts in Dubuque.

The company already has a T.J. Maxx location at 2591 Northwest Arterial, near the future Sierra site. Work also is underway on a HomeGoods location at Kennedy Mall, which is expected to open in early March.

HomeGoods will take the space formerly occupied by several empty storefronts and Books-A-Million, which has relocated within the mall. The TJX business offers a variety of homeware, furniture and decor.

Bell, whose company also owns Kennedy Mall, said TJX has been a valuable partner in the Dubuque area and that conversations continue about how to support and bolster the presence of its stores.

“We have a really good, long-standing relationship with them,” Bell said. “For Sierra, … it was a conversation about how Dubuque has a really great outdoor community, so we could offer them a really nice fit.”

Bell said the impending opening also fills one of the few remaining openings in Asbury Plaza, which is also home to other large retailers such as Maurices, Old Navy and Michaels.

The plaza otherwise only has a couple open storefronts, he said, which Cafaro actively is working to fill.

“No one can deny that it’s a great location,” he said. “All along the (Northwest) Arterial, there’s some great spots for shopping, and we want to make sure our portion of Asbury Plaza has all the right elements to it.”

To celebrate its opening in Dubuque, Sierra has made a $10,000 donation to River Bend Food Bank, the release states.

Dan “Sully” Sullivan, vice president of member relations at Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber is excited to see another large retailer moving to the area, as well as the expansion of Asbury Plaza’s success.

“This is a great addition to a strong business market,” Sullivan said. “We’re just excited to see more businesses coming in, and these bigger retailers can be a real complement to our local businesses in offering (area residents) what they’re looking for.”