By Sharna Johnson: CNJ staff writer
Selling his two Clovis shoe stores was a bittersweet decision for Randy Dayhoff.
After 56 years of ownership by the Dayhoff family, the business — Randy’s Shoes and Randy’s Workboot Store in the 400 block of Main Street — will be sold Wednesday to Brown’s Shoe Fit Co. of Shendandoah, Iowa.
“It’s mixed emotions,” Dayhoff said. “It wasn’t an easy decision. It took me three months to decide.”
Dayhoff said a little more than a year ago he and his wife, Linda, moved to Lubbock and they own another store in Amarillo.
The Clovis stores are near to his heart and where the business was born in 1954 as Dayhoff Shoes, but Dayhoff said it was time.
“Part of it’s just being tired of the commute, and then just sort of wanting to take a rest from retail for a while,” he said.
Dayhoff said he had worked with Brown’s Shoe Fit Co. in the past and when they made an offer, he accepted.
The stores will remain, with the company leasing the spaces from Dayhoff, and employees will be retained by the new owner, who will bring in a new manager and product lines will stay fairly consistent, he said.
Brown’s Shoe Fit Co., started in 1911 in Iowa, owns 80 stores in 12 Midwestern states.
According to its Web site, the company was founded on a philosophy of diligence, selling name-brand family shoes.
Dayhoff said he and his family don’t see the sale as them leaving Clovis even though they’ve moved.
“Clovis will always be home,” he said, explaining he expects he will often return.
He said he plans to focus more energy on his Amarillo store and take some time off.
