ROANOKE, Va. – Turning an unfortunate situation into a positive one – that’s what the owner of Fleet Feet in Roanoke is doing after a driver drove into the front of the store Sunday night.
A simple mistake is what the owner of Fleet Feet on Franklin Road, Matt Thompson said. He said the driver was doing a good deed by donating shoes into the store’s rescue mission bin when they accidentally put the car into the wrong gear.
“Nobody was here, nobody was hurt. So, we are grateful for that,” Thompson said.
After just one day of being closed, the store is back up and running. He says he gives all his thanks to local Roanoke business, Noke Van Co. who jumped in to help.
“They called me and said we’ll be there, so they came and did a temporary wall on Sunday night. Then they came in yesterday and tore that temporary wall down and put something a little more permanent when the permanent solution will come in, I don’t know, with insurance and contractors and such but we are able to operate this wall can be around for months so,” Thompson said.
The temporary wall now has a new meaning.
“Were encouraging folks to come on down, write your why, what is your why about? We wanna see it. Let’s make this a really positive experience for everyone until we get the remodeling done. Come on down, see us, and write your ‘Why’ on the wall,” he said.
Thompson said he didn’t want to focus on the lost revenue but on the safety of his employees and customers. Fleet Feet is open and ready for last-minute shoppers.