At 1,100 square feet of retail space, the new store is about half the size of Skinny Raven's flagship running store downtown. But it has some unique features, such as an 85-meter outdoor running track. When the snow melts, shoppers can head outside to try out shoes or just burn off some energy.
The store, on West Dimond Boulevard, was initially set to open this fall. But Skinny Raven's owners are taking a lot of extra time to make the building -- a former A&W restaurant where Dimond High students used to slurp root beer floats -- look swank.
Think gleaming mahogany and blond-wood paneling. A copper roof and elaborate red fence. A marble-tiled restroom.
"I've probably been asked close to 200 times by random people when the store is opening," said Dimond High School cross-country coach Nate Normandin.
He said some of his athletes have applied for jobs there and the shop should benefit from the running crowd that pounds South Anchorage trails.
The interior work was the most time consuming. The $50,000 track was finished earlier this year, store officials said.
The idea behind all of the interior work was to make the small space appealing and distinctive, said Skinny Raven president Dan Greenhalgh.
The local running store company -- which also sells high-end sportswear and casual shoes -- has been eyeballing the south side of town for several years, but it wanted a stand-alone store rather than a strip-mall location, said John Clark, the company's prime minister for purchasing. (Yes, that's his actual job title.)
Skinny Raven opened in 1994, with running shoes and Dankso clogs as its major sellers. The company has already expanded twice -- making the original store bigger a decade ago, and in 2005, opening Her Tern, a high-end women's apparel and footwear store across the street from the downtown location.
Greenhalgh said it would have been nice to open the new store before Christmas but it wasn't worth the extra stress to make it happen. He is adamant, however, that the store will open by the end of December.
"We're fortunate that we have a company that's busy right now," he said.
The company has nearly 30 full-time and part-time employees, and the new store will be staffed with about three employees at a time.
Clark said the U.S. recession has hurt retailers of athletic merchandise but hasn't had a huge impact on specialty running stores like Skinny Raven. That's because running is growing in popularity, he said.
That seems to be true at nearby Dimond High, according to Normandin. He said cross-country team participation grew from 40 to 50 kids three years ago to 80 this year.
National statistics also give some credence to Clark's claim.
U.S. marathon participation grew by nearly 10 percent last year -- the biggest increase in more than 25 years, according to Running USA, a national nonprofit that promotes road racing.
Half-marathon participation grew 24 percent last year, and it has more than doubled in the past decade, the group said.
Also, the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association reported $3.35 billion in running shoe sales -- a 6 percent increase -- last year. That is one of only two categories of athletic shoe sales that grew last year. The other was outdoor sport shoes.
Find Elizabeth Bluemink online at adn.com/contact/ebluemink or call 257-4317.
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.