Aaron and I grew up running thousands of miles on country backroads. It was during these lonely miles that we discovered our passion for running and our desire to open our own running shoe store one day. However, we knew if we wanted to open a shoe store we had to do something different. We wanted to create a space for everyone to use and enjoy. A space for runners and non-runners to gather, drink good beer and socialize. Thus, BackRoads Brews & Shoes was born, an independent shoe store with a bar, where we sell 8 different local craft beers, wine, cider, kombucha and coffee.
We have been open for a little over a month and are already growing, our coffee is expanding daily and we are now a full coffee bar! We are also bringing in food/snacks on a regular basis. Our running team is in full swing and runners of every ability are meeting on Tuesdays & Thursdays at 6:00 pm, and Saturday Mornings at 8:30 am. The team is free to join, and we welcome anyone who is new to running or training for their umpteenth Marathon. We are excited to be in Riverbend, and counting down the days until spring.
This store has been our dream to open, while many independent businesses feel the strain of big box stores, we both believe that people still want to shop somewhere unique, with high quality niche products. That there are mindful consumers who enjoy the experience of shopping somewhere with excellent service. We want to create the ultimate in shopping experience; where else can you try on a pair of shoes while drinking a beer? Small businesses in Canada will survive if people keep thinking outside the box, keep modernizing and truly understanding what provides value to their customers. We want small business in Canada to thrive, we want to see a resurgence of small businesses everywhere, and know that it takes a great deal of effort on our end to provide something truly remarkable.
I’ll leave you with our motto,
“if you think you can accomplish your dream in your lifetime, you are thinking too small…”
– The BackRoads Team
