TOWSON, Md. — Stephanie Barthlow has been coming to Towson Bootery for a long time.
"About 20 years at least," she said.
And she's not alone.
The shoe store has been a staple in the community since it opened in 1948.
VIDEO: Longtime customers heartbroken over Towson Bootery closing
"There are no other stores like this," Bathlow told WMAR 2 News. "It's very personal here. You are fitted like back in the old days many years ago at the department stores."
But now all of that is going to change.
The bootery is set to close at the end of March after 77 years in the community.
Barthlow said she's heartbroken.
"I don't know what I'm going to do and where I'm gonna get shoes for my grandchildren and for myself and my daughter."
The owner's daughter, Stephanie Rudolph, told WMAR 2 News it was a hard decision to make, but she had to face reality after her dad passed away in December.
"He was here seven days a week; he barely took off. This was his livelihood. This was his everyday," she said, "I didn't know how to continue without his, I guess, mind manual."
Since announcing the close, customers have been filing into the store to get their last pairs of shoes, many of them telling Stephanie the stories they've collected over the years.
"I hear all sorts of fun stories about how he'd let the kids run in the back and choose their shoes. They still have customers that are like, 'Oh, let's find you a pair in the back."
That community extended to the employees.
"He lived through the employees that he worked with. Like that kept him living too. He always had inside jokes, knew their families, and went to dinner."
And Stephanie has heartwarming memories of her own.
"I enjoyed running up and down the aisles and playing with shoes, causing a ruckus, trying to stamp checks, sweeping outside. It was just home."
The store will close on March 23rd.
Stephanie encourages customers to continue coming in, tell her your stories, and enjoy the rest of the time you have left with Towson Bootery.
