Walk Rite Shoes is celebrating 75 years in Williams Lake with a birthday party at all of its three locations on Feb. 7 and 8, 2025.
The store first opened March 1950 in the same location on Oliver Street in downtown Williams Lake where it is today.
In 2014 Melanie Ablitt and her husband Troy Ablitt purchased the business from Marion Mortenson who had owned the store for 36 years.
Mortenson purchased it in February 1978 from John and Edie Burkowski.
John moved to Williams Lake four years before opening the store. He and his brother Tony both had their own retail stores in town and Edie has experience working in the shoe department at the Hudson's Bay Company.
Two years after they bought it, the Ablitts opened a second store in Prince George 2016, then in Quesnel in 2018.
"The footwear business has been extremely fun," Melanie said. "I didn't realize there could be so many options with footwear. They keep coming up with new innovations, very pretty designs. For me it's been something challenging and fun at the same time."
She finds it difficult to believe 10 years have gone by and said she is still learning.
"I think I know what I'm doing and then all of a sudden find out that I don't."
Being in the business has made her appreciate the importance of good footwear and prompted her to think about arch support and taking good care of her feet.
"I didn't realize that before. I'd squish my feet into tight little ones that I thought were cute, but that does not pay off in the end."
One of their biggest challenges about owning the retail business so far has been the ups and downs of the economy during the last decade, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
They opened an online store, which has been a learning curve.
Melanie said they send shoes all over Canada and some into the U.S.
"We had a customer from North Carolina call us about a shoe they said they really needed and couldn't get anywhere."
In total there are four employees in the Williams Lake store, four in Prince George and three in Quesnel.
Troy goes once a week to each location and is a big part of the business, Melainie explained.
"He became our shipper. He travels to every store and we move stock around a lot depending on sizes and that helps with our customers choices."
Describing Troy as someone who has a good business mind, she said it was his idea to open the stores in Quesnel and Prince George.
Melanie said she thought Troy was crazy when he suggested they expand, but while spending time at the store in Williams Lake he noticed there were often shoppers from out of town in the store.
"He was wondering why they were coming from out of town so he went up to Prince George and just noticed there was probably a small niche for a fashion-based store there, locally-owned."
Melanie anticipated all three stores would act the same, but has learned each location has its own attitude and feel of what customers want.
Over the years, customers have told her stories about shopping at the store which she really enjoys hearing about.
He own mom told her very that her first pair of boots were purchased at Walk-Rite.
During the birthday parties there will be door prizes, giveaways, sales, coffee and goodies on the Friday and Saturday.
"I'm excited, happy and proud that it is still going," she said. "I've tried my best."
