Barefoot Durango, a clothing and household goods shop, will open next week in a space formerly occupied by Schlotzsky’s, a sandwich shop in the 800 block of Main Avenue.
All evidence of Schlotzsky’s counter and kitchen have been replaced with a rustic interior and goods such as shirts and hats branded with the Colorado or Durango names.
The shop is the latest location for Barefoot Athletics, a Texas-based company that also prints custom apparel, said Matt Copeland, who co-owns the business with his brother, Mitch Copeland.
The brothers decided to open a Durango shop after visiting to ski and later finding the right building for the store, he said. “We fell in love with it,” he said.
In addition to selling location-branded apparel, the shop will carry school-branded clothing promoting Fort Lewis College and Durango High School, he said.
The store also carries household goods such as pillows, mugs, decor and toys. Sales will help drive the store’s future inventory, said store manager Erin Weddle.
The Copelands started in custom printing in 2002 and still produce between 3,000 to 6,000 custom-printed items a day. The store supplies school districts in Colorado and across the country, he said
The brothers opened their first retail store about nine years ago. Many of their locations are in southern states and specialize in college-branded clothing. The shop in Durango is the 10th retail shop for the Copelands. The 11th will open soon in Texas, Matt Copeland said.
The shop has not yet been issued a business license, said Ben Florine, deputy clerk for the city of Durango. But the shop is handling those details, Weddle said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
