Good news for fans of the soon-to-close Bay Street Shoes: The shop’s longtime manager and buyer, Colette Welch, has revealed she plans to open her own shoe boutique in Calhoun Square as early as April. At 850 square feet, her new store Shunami will be decidedly cozier than the 2,800-square-foot Bay Street, but the vibe of that store and many of its brands will carry over. Similar to Bay Street, “We’ll carry a collection of cool, creative shoes that are everyday-wearable,” with brands including Camper, Frye, J Shoes, Palladium, Dansko, OTBT, and Bed|Stü for men and women. She’ll also carry over many of Bay Street’s fixtures, and she’ll be joined at the new shop by her Bay Street co-worker Katie Reilly, who has been at Bay Street for two decades.
Having worked at the beloved Calhoun Square staple for more than 16 years, Welch knows a thing or two about running a shoe store — and Bay Street’s loyal customers are sure to follow her. She’s so sure of that fact that she’s creating a Kickstarter campaign to raise the last 25 percent of the money she needs to finance the store, which she’ll be launching on Christmas Eve. If she doesn’t raise the funding now, she says she’ll have to delay the store opening to July, but she’s optimistic that April will be the open date. Visit Kickstarter.com (search for “Shunami”) or visit Bay Street Shoes’ Facebook page beginning on December 24 to help make Welch’s vision a reality.
Bay Street Shoes closes its doors on December 28, and until then, be sure to check out its closeout sale for markdowns of 70 percent or higher on both shoes and store fixtures.
Calhoun Square, 3001 Hennepin Ave., first floor, Mpls., 612-824-5574, baystreetshoes.com
