Fleet Feet Sports is packing up their sneakers and following in the footsteps of New World Record. I was floored when I heard the news… as I feel that the business is synonymous with the white house (on Elmwood) that they have come to call home. I spoke with owner, Dan Loncto, who told me that they were excited about the move, and expressed to me that this was the best thing for the business. “We’re staying in the city,” he assured me. “It wasn’t an easy decision. The size of the store was key… our business has grown 30% this year. Not having parking on Elmwood is a huge negative for us. The particular block that we’re in is a tough sell for suburbanites. People don’t want to walk far to get here. So we’re going from a 2200 sq.’ space to a 3500 sq.’ space. The selling area in the new location is as big as the entire square footage in the Elmwood building.
“The new store will look spectacular. We’re adding lifestyle brands… not just running and walking. We added Ecco (European casual shoe) in March and the line just took off. We’ve wanted to add new lines for a long time. We have the ability to grow… we just need the space to do it. We took a chance with our current space and it served us very well over the years. Fleet Feet has been here since April 2002. We first looked at the Delaware location in late September, and ten weeks later we signed a lease. Somewhere in that timeframe I heard that New World Records had decided to move - we were already under negotiations. I was very surprised to hear that they were moving. Hearing that news reinforced our decision to stay in the city and grow the business. We’re only moving 1.2 miles… with much better access off of the highway. People are not attuned to walking along blocks that have no concentration of shopping.”
Justin Azzarella, Director of the Elmwood Village Association was sad to hear the news, but at the same time he was very hopeful that the building will be a 'quick fill'. "The Elmwood Association's business specialist, Dan Leonard, has been collecting business contacts since June," he told me. "The majority of our leads are local entrepreneurs. Many of these businesses are looking for exactly this type of building. We've already sent word out to the businesses that we've been in contact with. We think that it will fill up quickly. I'd like to see a 'basics' clothing store... t-shirts jeans, socks, and underwear... for a reasonable price. I'd also like to see a smaller sporting goods store move in."
Fleet Feet Sports will soon occupy 2290 Delaware Avenue – the plaza is a Benderson development.
Side Note: For a recent story on Nate Benderson, check out this article in The Herald Tribune.