Brensinger will close Burlington Footwear on Saturday
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
Mary Brensinger has fitted many customers with comfortable shoes in her 34 years as owner of Burlington Footwear.
Her tenure in the shoe business will end on Saturday, when she will close the downtown Burlington store, which has held closeout sales throughout the month.
Brensinger, who bought the business from Art Verick in 1984, said she decision came about a year ago.
“My decision came when I turned 70,” Brensinger, who is now 71, said. “I said ‘OK, it’s time to retire.’
“That was my big decision.”
The decision, however, was not easy, considering the many customers she has met in her 34 years.
“I tried to sell the business for about a whole year.”
“It was hard to walk away after all that time,” she said. “(The customers) are sad, I have had a lot of awesome people come in and they are sad to see me go.”
The customers, she said, have been the bright spot of her tenure.
“When I put their shoes on their feet and they have a smile from ear to ear … that is what I enjoy,” said Brensinger.
The personal touch started in 1984, when Brannock devices shoehorns and shoe stretchers were critical tools for people in the shoe industry.
Today, shoehorns and Brannock devices are unheard of, and seldom used.
“We do measure feet here. A lot of people have never even used (a Brannock device) in their lives,” she said. “We do put (shoes) on their foot using a shoehorn and most people don’t even know what a shoehorn is.”
She said youngsters were amazed the shoe stretchers used in the store could perform the intended task.
During the closeout sale, Brensinger said, a man from Ireland came into her store and spent several minutes looking at the shoe stretcher and bought a handful.
Liquidating inventory
At its peak, Burlington Footwear had up to 4,000 pairs of shoes, and there were 3,400 pairs when she started liquidating her inventory about a year ago.
“I have been at this for about a year, trying to get stuff out of here,” she said. “I started out with 3,400 pairs of shoes.”
As of Aug. 18, the inventory has diminished to around 220.
To read the full story see the Aug. 23 edition of the Burlington Standard Press.
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