Akwesasne Sports opens Kahnawa:ke location

After sixteen years in business, Akwesasne Sports has expanded their two-store business in Akwesasne into a 3-store business that stretches to Kahnawa:ke, Akwesasne’s sister Mohawk community near Montreal. The newest branch of the successful retail store opened this summer on Kahnawa:ke’s Highway 138 West, across from the Mohawk Bingo.

“We started off in 1993 when we bought a skate sharpener,” said owner Doreen Mitchell. “We sharpened skates out of our basement. People from the community were coming right to our house and it started from there.”

In the beginning and still to this day Akwesasne Sports is the only place in the community to have skates sharpened.

Soon, the Mitchell’s added a few items to their basement location for people to buy – tape, laces, and sticks. After five years, they were ready to open up a store and the first Akwesasne Sports location opened on Route 37 in 1998.

“With the success of this (store) we opened our Cornwall Island store in July of 2004 at Peacetree,” Mitchell said. “That’s fully stocked with the same stuff – whatever you can find here (at the Route 37 store) you’ll find there too.”

Akwesasne Sports receives customers from miles and miles away on both sides of the border and now the Kahnawa:ke store will provide convenience for customers who were traveling all the way to Akwesasne for sports equipment.

“I think (the success) is because we carry everything of each brand,” Mitchell said. “We also carry high-end equipment, and there aren’t many places to buy lacrosse equipment.”

Akwesasne Sports has also had success selling apparel, particularly the Under Armour brand. They have UA hoodies, t-shirts, sweatpants, golf shirts, socks, duffel bags, chin straps, cleats, hats, headbands and just about anything you could imagine. In March they will begin selling Under Armour sneakers.

Next month Akwesasne Sports will begin their Christmas sale, with most merchandise marked down between 10 and 40 percent.

Hours for the Route 37 store are Monday to Friday from 10-6, Saturday 9-5 and Sunday 10-4. Their phone number is 518-358-4863.

Hours for the Cornwall Island store are Monday to Friday 10-9 (longer hours due to bridge lineups), Saturday 9-5 and Sunday 10-4. Their phone number is 613-938-2752.

The Kahnawa:ke store is open seven days a week. Their phone number is 514-664-4104.

Photos by Kyle Zacharie