A business located in Downtown San Luis Obispo for more than a decade has decided to close its storefront and transition to doing business solely online.
Like many other businesses, The Sock Drawer closed in mid-March at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
General Manager Cindy Johnson says employees expressed concerns over returning to work because of the size of the small store and with online sales going well, the decision was made to close the 852 Higuera St. location.
"It was a economic decision to not bring down the online business by continuing to struggle downtown. If we were in a position where we were starting to lose money, then it just really didn't make sense for our business overall," Johnson said, adding that it was among many contributing reasons to close downtown. "Unfortunately, we made the tough decision to close our downtown shop after it became clear that the retail shopping experience would be forever changed due to COVID-19. This was our way of keeping our small local business healthy and will continue to allow us to focus on spreading sock joy throughout the United States as well as Internationally."
The Sock Drawer, which opened downtown in 2007, has grown to be one of the largest online sock companies in the world, offering hundreds of different prints and styles.
Three of the four employees at the downtown location were hired back to work at the company's San Luis Obispo warehouse.
Free shipping is available for orders placed online at www.sockdrawer.com for those in San Luis Obispo County.
