CALGARY -- The Birkenstock store has been a fixture on 14th Street N.W. for years.
It used to be known as Futons for Less, but owner Zeke Callaghan stopped making and selling them a few years ago.
Now, he says he's calling it quits on his current business venture.
Callaghan says he is a carpenter by trade. He first saw a futon in 1986 and knew he could make a quality product.
He says he had about 14 good years selling them to the university crowd.
"The students loved it and that was sort of the gang buster and then the bottom dropped out," said Callaghan.
He says that’s when discount big box stores moved in. He kept making them for another few years but says his cotton supplier in Texas retired and Callaghan decided it was time to stop production.
But, even today, he misses it.
"It’s what kept me going seven days a week, a labour of love, it was hands on so when people bought I knew they were buying a quality product, it paid me to come into work so if you’re going to work why not have fun," said Callaghan.
Now, Birkenstock is changing the way it does business around the world and Callaghan can no longer get the product.
He says he has about 4,000 sandals in stock and when they’re gone, he’s retiring.
His wife Lucy Forster has worked with him for the last ten years at the store and says she’s sad the store is closing, but is looking forward to seeing Zeke getting some well needed rest.
You can learn more about the store online.
