There weren’t very many shoe stores when Charlie Walters opened Dryer’s Shoe Store in Emporia.
Walters opened Dryer’s in 1955 — in an era when shoe stores were scarce.
“In that time there wasn’t any McDonalds and things like that,” Walters said, adding that many jobs were manual labor and he decided against that and opened up his shoe business.
He and his wife, Edna, ran the store together for many years. Walters retired about six years ago and his daughters took over the store. The store will close its doors in a couple of months ending a multi-generational era.
On Tuesday, Walters and his daughters, Kim Nifong and Kellie Carlson, were busy marking down shoe prices for Friday’s re-opening and the start of the close-out sale. Walters shared the story of his store while taking a break from marking down prices.
Over the years, Walters kept the store going with his customer service and his keen eye for the latest styles and trends, he said. A big challenge was keeping up with the latest trends. Walters said he went to conventions in Las Vegas where more than 3,000 shoe vendors gathered with the latest designs. Walters would then buy his shoes from them in hopes they would sell well in Emporia.
Working with customers was what Walters enjoyed most, he said.
“I tried to be honest and have good customer services and hopefully they will come back,” he said. “It was a pretty good job.”
Some of his favorite memories were running the store with his wife, who died recently, he said. Running the store was a family affair as both of his daughters were raised around the business and so were the grandchildren.
“It’s a good experience for anybody, especially the younger (generation) to learn how to wait on people,” Walters said.
Walters said he is sorry to see the store close.
“We’re sorry to do this but there comes the time,” he said. “The end is near. I want to thank all our loyal customers. We couldn’t have done it without them.”
The building the store is in, 520 Commercial St., won’t stand empty when the shoe store closes. High Gear Cyclery and Fitness Equipment, which is now located at 504 Commercial St., will move into the space. Matt and Stephanie Brown, owners of High Gear, said they will expand their inventory.
Walters shared a tidbit about the two stores — Dryer’s started out in the building that High Gear is in and now High Gear is taking over the current Dryer’s building.
justthinkin (anonymous) says...
Good Luck in your future. I always enjoyed the service, selection & prices at Dryers. And, mostly that they would leave the customer alone to "browse", unlike their high pressure, high priced, competitor.
October 17, 2009 at 1:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jcwhit232 (anonymous) says...
Kim & Kelly will be missed as well as Dryers itself. It has been a fixture of Emporia since I was born. I always enjoyed the friendliness of everyone in the Walters family. Good luck to you Kim & Kelly in whatever you decide to do.
October 17, 2009 at 10:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )