Andrews
Gibson's Shoe Store has been a staple in town for generations, but the large store on Main Street officially closed over the Independence Day weekend.
Dillon Gibson has owned the store for more than 30 years after buying the business from Herbert Ford, who bought it from Dillon's grandfather, Charles Gibson Sr.
Gibson grew up in Andrews and graduated from Andrews High School in 1980. Before graduating, Gibson apprenticed in his grandfather's shoe repair shop, where he learned the trade of shoe repair.
"My grandfather started the business in 1928, and he was in his early 80s when he was ready to retire and I was about to go to college," Gibson said. "He sold the business to Ford, who moved the business from the back of Nichols Department Store to the corner of Main Street and Locust Street in Andrews. My grandfather also worked for Ford at that time. My grandfather never sold shoes; Ford added the shoes."
Buying the store
Gibson said in 1983, Ford's mother became ill, and he decided to close the store. At the time, Gibson was working for Ford and asked if he could buy the business. Gibson and Ford made an agreement, and the store remained open until Gibson took over in June 1984. The two worked together until Gibson fully took over on Jan. 1, 1985.
"It was a summer job that became a career to a great extent. I went to college for business at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and left early because of the timing of buying the business," Gibson said. "It was just what I wanted to do. It became really clear, the years I worked for Ford and the combination of what my grandfather did, plus adding the shoes we had to repair to sell. That became the kind of business I wanted to do."
Gibson said the business was truly family run. He enjoyed helping local customers through the years.
"All the local customers and ones from far away who came on a regular basis became familiar to us, and the employees that worked there for more than 20 years became like family. Some of them were actually family," he said.
"Helping families at Christmas and giving discounts to the schools that had a fund to provide shoes and socks for children in need; that was always an enjoyable thing for my employees, and they always loved being able to help the students pick out a new pair of shoes."
Gibson Shoe Store always had a big boot in the annual Andrews Christmas Parade that Gibson and his brother, Phillip, made.
Shoe sales end
The shoe retail portion of the store officially closed on Dec. 31, 2018, due to the main supplier sending products overseas and cutting down on the availability of inventory.
When Gibson started working for Four Square Community Action in May 2020, he continued doing shoe repairs on Saturdays only in the old store. Over the Fourth of July weekend, Gibson moved his repair shop out of the old building and across the street into the old Food Lion Plaza.
"Shoe repairs are becoming really rare in small towns; Andrews may be the smallest town that still has one," he said. "It's a dying trade, a lot of today's generation just throws away a shoe or boot rather than get it repaired. But if you are paying a hefty price like for work boots, it's worth it to get them repaired."
Gibson resoles, heels and stitches shoes for repair and specializes in orthopedic repairs.
"The people who need orthopedic shoes due to a hip or knee replacement that leaves their leg a little shorter or who need a brace repaired if they wear an orthopedic brace," he said. "When people need shoes built up, they would have to travel to Asheville or somewhere else to get their shoes if we were not here."
Repairs continue
Gibson hopes to continue doing shoe repairs until the Gibson Shoe Repair business that his grandfather created reaches 100 years.
"The main thing to me, it's an evolution or the next manifestation,” he said. "My grandfather did this for 52 years, and I want it to reach 100 years."
Gibson said he didn't have any apprentices learning the trade, and his grandchildren live out of state. He is hopeful for the future of Andrews and businesses there.
"When I graduated, all the manufacturing was still here like Lee, Levi's and Owenby's. It was a much busier climate than it is now," he said. "But with the influx of people coming here from urban areas and houses selling, we could see a boom or turnaround for the business climate in Andrews to improve in the next several years."