Redwood Trading Post began in a Quonset hut down at Five Points, near El Camino and Woodside Road, in 1952. Located on Main Street Redwood City, California, the store was known as Redwood Surplus. Joseph Weber purchased the business in 1964 and worked very hard to develop a reliable source for specialty outdoor gear. The business moved to 1305 El Camino Real in 1974, into a building shared with Midas Muffler. In 1984 Midas Muffler moved out and Redwood Trading Post expanded to occupy the entire building. The Webers are a do-it-yourself-family, and along with little outside help they managed to renovate and outfit the expanded location. There were walls to be torn down, shelves to be built, lighting to be wired, racks to be designed, and fixtures to be painted. Piece by piece the store you see today was put together. Even today you can feel the old car lift in the floor left over from the muffler shop. In 1988 the offices formerly being used by the California Youth Authority on Wilson Street became the storage facility for Redwood Trading Post. Over the years his three sons, Larry, Randy, and Ron joined Joseph. Redwood Trading Post is a true family business. By 1982, the three Weber brothers shared joint ownership of the business. For many years it was run by the three brothers while father, Joe, kept the books and mother, Tessie, headed the cash registers. Not many businesses still open after this many years can claim such a rich, nurturing history. In 2003 Joe finally realized he had much more interesting things to do and completely turned Redwood Trading Post over to the care of his sons.
