Ads from the Past: Shakti Shoes

The year was 1981 and Calhoun Square was not open yet. Shakti Shoes was located in 1981 at 3041 Hennepin Avenue. The store had been located at 2909 Hennepin Avenue the year prior and would continue to move around a bit in the years to come. The store closed sometime in the early 2000s.

A 1981 Shakti Shoes ad

In 1992, the store was owned by Rich Vissell for 18 years, meaning the store had been open from at least 1974. The Star Tribune quoted Vissell discussing the 1992 Birkenstock sandal boomm: “People who would never wear them five years ago are buying them now.” Apparently, the biggest customer base increase was in youth, which was good for Vissell because he also owned (or owns?) Shoe Zoo at 32nd and Hennepin.

Apparently they were popular enough in 1981 to be listed in the ad.

Thatcher Imboden

How cities work and change, how they are the product of their inhabitants and outside forces, and the resulting livability keep me thinking and dreaming about the future. I work in urban real estate development, am Past President of an Uptown business organization, grew up in Uptown, was on an Uptown neighborhood association Board, and am an Uptown and Lyn-Lake historian.

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