The Saratoga Shoe Depot on Delaware Avenue in Delmar has sold its last soles.
After nearly 30 years in Delmar, owner Frank Panza made the decision to close the branch Saturday, Feb. 27, and transfer the store’s remaining inventory to his larger store on Broadway Avenue in Saratoga Springs, which will remain open.
We were very happy with the community, and they supported us in what we did there, Panza said. `We ran into a situation where funding became very difficult for us, and we had to make a call to either limp along with two locations that were way over inventoried, or let one go.`
Panza said the decision was unrelated to his company’s Chapter 11 proceedings, which were initiated in last August of last year.
`It was really a funding issue, and nothing more than that,` Panza said. `In the past, we had always been known for very, very aggressive inventory levels,` and it became impossible to maintain those levels in Delmar.
Panza said he’d soon be submitting a business plan in hopes of exiting Chapter 11.
The Shoe Depot purchased the building on the corner of Delaware Avenue and Groesbeck Place in 1986, though he had done business there for several years prior. The property is up for sale, and is listed for $1.5 million through Sotheby’s realty, and is also available for lease through Ikon Realty Group. Panza doesn’t expect the location to remain vacant long.
`We have had quite a bit of interest in it,` he said.
He said he and his wife, Jenifer, would shift their focus to keeping their Saratoga Springs location open and profitable.
`Our goal is to become fundable through another lender and to keep Saratoga open,` he said.
“