THE RUN INN:
Celebrating 30 Years Story by Sarah Gordon
photos by Sandra Steier and Carolynne Palla
It has been 30 years since The Run Inn opened in Kerrisdale. The running (“runinn”) store has become a go-to shop for top-notch personal service and expertly fitted shoes. In June, the Kerrisdale store will celebrate its 30th anniversary and the Tsawwassen location will celebrate its 20th anniversary. To mark the occasion, The Run Inn will produce commemorative t-shirts and hold a sale. Chris Cole is one of the three owners and founding partners of The Run Inn. He and Steve Nobbs work at the Kerrisdale store, and Kevin Ridley works at the Tsawwassen location.
The Run Inn continued to thrive during the pandemic. During the early days of the pandemic, the partners had to rethink the way the store operated when businesses temporarily closed 6
and subsequently had to limit the number of people in the store. Chris says, “People were extremely loyal to their local shops; they continued to support the business by calling in and picking up their orders.” It presented them with an opportunity to take a deeper dive into e-commerce and in turn, this has expanded their customer base. The Run Inn is launching a new website in late April which will be commerce based. Chris says, “This is just the tip of the iceberg with online sales.” With little to do during the spring of 2020, many people threw themselves into outdoor activities, and similarly, with gym closures, people looked for new sports to try. The shop’s running club experienced an increase in memberships. Chris says, “It was a silver lining; we were pleasantly surprised.”
April 15 - June 15, 2022
KerrisdaleInsider.com
