By David Wichner | Tucson.com
Alan Miklofsky opened one of his independent shoe stores on East Speedway just after the 9/11 terrorist attacks but managed to stay open.
But last week Miklofsky had to close his fourth and newest Alan’s Shoes Tucson location at the Tucson Spectrum shopping center on the city’s south side, after most neighboring stores closed and foot traffic stalled amid the coronavirus outbreak.
“I’m concerned for the safety of our employees and our customers,” said Miklofsky, who co-founded Alan’s Shoes about 37 years ago. “We hope we won’t have to stay closed too long.”
After closing a second store and laying off 17 of his 46 employees overall last week, Miklofsky isn’t sure how long his two remaining stores will remain open but is carefully monitoring things with plans to reopen once the virus danger has passed.
