On Heels of The Competitive Foot's Closure, Fleet Feet Makes Quick Dash into Oak Park

The intrigue of a “Leased” sign that went up last week at 102 N. Marion St. has given way to no-doubt-about-it construction work as Fleet Feet prepares to move into the space that was long occupied by The Competitive Foot.

Dave and Lisa Zimmer, the franchisees of three Fleet Feet stores in Chicago and one in Elmhurst, are aiming for a late-December or early-January 2015 opening, according spokesperson Robin Monsky.

“Oak Park has a fantastic and very active running and fitness community so it only makes sense for us to be there,” Monsky stated in an email.

With their Old Town location in Chicago, the Zimmers own the highest-grossing Fleet Feet franchise out of more than 130 operating in the United States. They were not immediately available for comment Thursday.

The Downtown Oak Park space had been operated by Tim and Tyna Eggert at the corner of Marion Street and North Boulevard from 1977 until its closure in late July.

This week, activity that had previously occurred slowly and quietly, picked up momentum as renovation and build-out is under way on the inside. Outside, a contractor has been installing new windows.

“Fleet Feet is renovating the entire space with the landlord, planning on opening up more windows and increasing the sales floor,” Monsky stated.

Kate Pezalla, co-owner of Lively Running, 109 N. Oak Park Ave. in the Hemingway District, said the arrival of the business a half-mile to the west will not alter her shop’s approach as an athletic boutique for women. The store is in the process of shifting its name to Lively Athletics.

“Fleet Feet is a successful national chain,” said Pezalla. “We hope they are successful here. It doesn’t really change anything we’re doing.”

Since Lively Running’s soft opening in late July, followed by its Aug. 9th grand opening, the response from customers has been “fantastic,” she said. “We are overwhelmingly grateful to our community.”

In an interesting twist, Pezalla was a sales associate at Fleet Feet in Chicago for six months until this May, and Lively Running co-owner Anne Pezalla, her older sister, previously worked at The Competitive Foot. They grew up in Oak Park, and are graduates of Oak Park-River Forest High School.

Their business is not a direct competitor of Fleet Feet, said Kate Pezalla, who dubbed Lively Running “very niche” as an independent store operated by homegrown Oak Parkers.

Operating under the Fleet Feet Sports Chicago banner, the Zimmers are the franchisees of locations in Lincoln Square, Old Town and South Loop, as well as one at 124 E. Schiller St. in Elmhurst. They franchised their first store in 1996.

In addition to the Oak Park site, they have previously announced a planned store in the Chicago’s Southport corridor.

There are more than 130 Fleet Feet stores across the country, and another 14 locations in development, according to Fleet Feet’s national website. The Old Town store has been the highest-grossing Fleet Feet franchise in the country every year since 2000, Monsky stated.

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This story originally appeared on the Inside Edge News Service section of Inside Edge: Public Relations & Media Services. Online: www.InsideEdgePR.com.