Dave McKiernan, 74, will close his Southside shop, Shoeperior, on Friday, November 29, after opening in 1992.
Dave first established his shoe shop and key cutting operation at 51 Nicolson Street 32 years ago. However, after only 11 weeks in business, a fire forced him to relocate four months later to new premises at 121 Nicolson Street, where he has been ever since.
Dave explained why he is closing shop permanently this Friday: “I’m retiring. I’m 74, therefore I believe it’s time to retire. I had planned to work until I was 70 years old, but Covid intervened and forced me to rebuild the firm. I feel like I’ve done my part.
“In retirement, I’m looking forward to taking many more vacations. I have not taken many vacations in the 32 years I have been here.
“However, I’ve really enjoyed being here. The chat with the customers is what I’ll miss most. They kept me going. I’ve had many great customers.
“I’ve noticed a lot of changes throughout the years. Previously, many residents frequented the business, but currently it primarily serves students.I didn’t expect the business to endure this long. You can never tell. The first two years were difficult, especially because the fire forced us to relocate, but I gradually built up the firm from there.
“I would like to thank all the customers from over the years for helping me survive for so long.”
Dave revealed that he had to stop doing shoe repairs early this year due to a lack of demand, but he has been kept busy with local key cutting.
He explained, “I had to quit performing shoe repairs in April or May of this year, so I’ve just been doing key cutting since then, just ticking along. Shoe repair shops are on the decline across the country. There are too many trainers and cheap shoes on the market today.The keys sell well, particularly among students, and I have several estate agents who employ my services. So key cutting has always been an important element of the industry.
“I have had a few famous faces in here, including Aidan Gillen from Game of Thrones, and during the festival most years I get actors and comedians coming in to get keys cut.”
While most family businesses are passed down, Dave noted that his son is busy with his own locksmith firm and his daughter works for the council, so both “didn’t fancy taking it on”.
Leave a Reply