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From finding a baby’s first pair of snow boots to their child’s last pair of skateboard shoes before young adulthood, Ottawa parents have been flocking to Kiddie Kobbler for four decades.
Soon they may have to go somewhere else, as the owner of the St. Laurent Boulevard store recently announced his decision to retire at the end of March.
“I love what I do, people see me happy, I’m here everyday,” said Robert “The Shoeman” Krantzberg, the owner and store supervisor at the St. Laurent location.
“But at this age right now, I’m starting to feel the aches and pains. It’s taking its toll on me. The hours are long, and I feel like I’d like to just, you know, maybe take a step back.”
Krantzberg told CBC Radio’s All In A Day that he first began working at a Kiddie Kobbler location near his house in Montreal as a teenager, and owned his first store when he was just 19 years old.
His goal from day one, he said, was to run a store that children love to visit.
That’s led to multiple generations of the same families, he said, returning to buy shoes time and time again over the past four decades.
Rachel Buliziuk says she’s been buying shoes from Kiddie Kobbler’s St. Laurent Boulevard location since she was a child. Despite living in British Columbia, she still shops there for her three-year-old daughter. (Cameron Mahler/CBC)
When the store announced it would be closing its doors in a Christmas Day social media post, comments began pouring in from customers, reflecting on the quality of care and attention they’ve routinely received from store staff.
While many are from the Ottawa area, others come from across the country — like Rachel Buliziuk, who lives in British Columbia but shops at Krantzberg’s store for her own three-year-old daughter.
“Whenever I come in here, it’s like he remembers me and my daughter and my entire family,” said Buliziuk, whose mother used to buy her shoes from the St. Laurent location as a child.
‘Not just about making money’
For some of Krantzberg’s younger customers, like 11-year-old Britton Walby, the Kiddie Kobbler on St. Laurent has been their main shoe store for most of their lives.
Walby says he got his first pair of shoes from the location when he was only half a year old, and doesn’t know where he’ll go next if the shop does close after March.
Krantzberg still hasn’t ruled out the possibility of selling his location to new ownership, but there are certain traits he’s looking for in anyone who takes over.
“Someone who has experience with children, someone that really is going to love what they’re going to be doing and is really excited about taking over this business,” he said.
“[They should] know that it’s not just about making money, but … bringing a great experience to the people that come through my door.”
LISTEN | Kiddie Kobbler shoe store set to close in new year:
9:44Kiddie Kobbler shoe store set to close in new year
Rob ‘the shoeman’ Krantzberg joins us to look back at 40 years in the shoe business ahead of his retirement.