Peace Outfitters was founded in 1973 in downtown Tucson by the Chatinsky family. The store's roots were military surplus with an ample supply of weather balloons, parachutes, military fatigues, gurneys, ammo cans, and much more. Peace Outfitters moved to Flagstaff in 1976.
Over time, the store evolved from an army surplus store into the one-stop-shop for any skier, climber, hiker, river runner, or outdoor enthusiast.
In 2005, Peace Outfitters wins "Best Outdoor Store in Flagstaff" and has won every year since!
In November of 2021, Erin Ahmed and her family purchased Peace Outfitters with the goal of continuing to serve Flagstaff's outdoor community.
The Ahmed Family are long-time Arizona residents. After many years of working in the corporate environment, Kazi and Erin made the leap to entrepreneurship and purchased a landscaping business which brought them to the beautiful town of Sedona. Although the Ahmeds loved Sedona, Flagstaff seemed more like home. A few years later, they moved their family to the little mountain town. After being in Flagstaff for about a year, the Ahmeds learned that Steve Chatinsky was interested in selling his
long-time family business: Peace Outfitters.
After the Ahmeds visited Peace Outfitters and met with Steve, they knew this was the perfect business for their family to run while continuing the Peace Outfitters legacy in Flagstaff. “Peace Outfitters is such a cool, nostalgic, locally-owned family store. We don’t want to change the vibe of Peace Outfitters. We just want to make Peace Outfitters even better than it already is.”
While Kazi still manages the landscaping company in Sedona, it is up to Erin to keep Peace Outfitters grooving along. You will find Erin at Peace Outfitters most days as well as the two oldest children, Jade and Ameer, who also work at the store. The two youngest children, Ali and Ameena, can also be found at the store some days helping to stock items and keep the store organized and cleaned.
