Eastern Iowa Shoe Store Closes After More Than 40 Years

It's where I buy most of my shoes, as hard as it is to find comfort for my flat, wide hooves (yeah, I know...TMI). Fans of stylish kicks at affordable prices will be sad to learn that a popular national shoe store chain in the Crossroads Mall in Waterloo has closed its doors after more than 40 years.

Actually, according to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, it appears to have gone dark without much fanfare sometime in the last few weeks. The store had moved around several times before settling into what was its final Crossroads Center location.

It moved to Crossroads in 1979

When it first opened, in 1974, it was known as "Iowa's Largest". The store then took over three-quarters of a Hy-Vee in 1979, and in 1994, moved to even bigger and better things in the same mall when Michaels craft store took over its location. Then, it moved upstairs into two combined storefronts. A second location went up back at Black Hawk Village in Cedar Falls in 2003. As a piece of fun, groovy nostalgia, at the grand opening of that store, customers were offered a free CD with every purchase!

One remaining location in the "Cedar Valley"

Several Famous Footwear locations remain open in eastern Iowa (including several in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City) and you can search for your nearest one here. The shoes they have sold over the years have offered the high-quality comfort needed for all that moving around!

But for residents of the Cedar Valley, there is only one left, at 719 Brandilynn Boulevard in Cedar Falls. Their hours are listed on the website as Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from noon-9 p.m.