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When Champaign Surplus opened a 2,000 square foot store in 1947, it joined hundreds of stores selling army and navy surplus that had sprung up in the aftermath of World War II.

Fifty years later, and in its third location, Champaign Surplus occupies 20,000 square feet in a former Buick dealership with two adjoining parking lots that can accommodate 50 vehicles. And, although surplus remains an important segment, much of Champaign Surplus's trade today is in high-end camping and backpacking equipment.

"We changed our focus during the late 1970s and early 1980s and became more of a rugged outdoors and backpacking store," said Ira Wachtel, co-owner with his wife Lynn of the business at 303 South Neil in Champaign, Illinois. "Other army/navy stores have gone into camping, but few have done so as broadly and into the high-end side of it as we have," Wachtel explains.

A visitor to Champaign Surplus today would find a large inventory of used military backpacks, hospital scrubs, Carhartt workwear, rope, face paint, military insignias, knives, swords, flags and all the other merchandise that one would expect to find in a well stocked army/navy store.
But the visitor will also see items by North Face, Mountain Hardware, Mountainsmith, Columbia, Patagonia, Osprey other major manufacturers of outdoor apparel and equipment.

"We probably carry almost every high-end outdoor line," said Ira Wachtel.

In addition, Wachtel features a full line of kayaks and canoes, as well as mountaineering, rappelling and caving supplies.

Champaign Surplus was founded by Lynn Wachtel's parents, Leo and Anne Weisel, who sold standard army/navy surplus with a smattering of work clothing.

Hard work paid off and the business prospered. In 1965, the Weisels moved it to a 7,000 square foot location several blocks from the original store. The move coincided with the period of the Vietnam War and with the anti-war movement,

"College students were interested in used field jackets, combat packs and bell bottom trousers, the kind of merchandise my in-laws carried. Kids lined up to go into the store. It really became a wonderful business," Wachtel said.

An extra advantage that the store enjoyed, and still does, is its proximity to the 40,000-student Champaign-Urbana campus of the University of Illinois.

It was on campus that Ira and Lynn met in 1969 when both were students.

After being introduced to Lynn's parents and becoming acquainted with their business, Ira began working in it part-time.