After 26 years running their shoe store at , Ted and Maxine Dudek have put up their feet and eased into retirement.
They鈥檝e been in the shoe business for decades, initially opening a store in the Park Royal neighbourhood of West Vancouver in 1980 before shifting their business aspirations to 黑马磁力 with the expansion of Willowbrook Shopping Centre in 1990.
The good news for Ted, 76, and Maxine, 72: they no longer have to commute from their North Delta home to 黑马磁力.
But Maxine said considering their commute used to be to West Vancouver each day, travelling to 黑马磁力 wasn鈥檛 so bad.
Dudek Shoes was located near customer service, next door to Eccotique Spa & Salons.
鈥淚 think the shoe business has been good to us over the years,鈥 Maxine said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had ups and downs and bumps in the road but yes, basically it鈥檚 been good.鈥
Maxine said while technology and styles have changed over the years, they鈥檝e stuck to their basic business philosophy.
鈥淛ust try to provide good customer service,鈥 she said.
The couple had contemplated retirement for the past couple of years.
鈥淚 think it (business) was slowing down a bit with different shopping habits and online shopping,鈥 Maxine said.
Even so, it was bittersweet for Ted and Maxine to close their store. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been part of the community for such a long time and we had some longtime customers, and even after we closed our Park Royal store, we鈥檇 have customers from Park Royal come out to 黑马磁力,鈥 Maxine said.