Anchorage shoe store to shutter downtown location

Anchorage shoe boutique ShuzyQ said Tuesday it will close its downtown Fifth Avenue location and focus on its newer South Anchorage store.

Mother and daughter co-owners Dawn Walsh and Shawna Rider want to merge operations at one location after feeling "kind of spread thin right now" between the two, Rider said.

"We're trying to refocus and consolidate our efforts," she said. "We think we can have the best impact from one store."

The downtown location doesn't have a sidewalk window, but is tucked into the same building as Orso and Glacier Brewhouse. Rider and Walsh opened the second location, next to South Restaurant, in September 2015.

Along with focusing on the South Anchorage store, the owners want to pour more energy into community events and partnerships with local organizations and nonprofits.

"We really love the (South Anchorage) neighborhood that we're in and we've really developed a great working relationship with our neighbors," Rider said. "People have responded really well to our new store and we've had a really good first year out there."

ShuzyQ's downtown shop will be open through March, but Rider said she doesn't know yet when its last day of business will be.

"Once daily operations have ceased at the downtown location," the owners said in a press release, "ShuzyQ will continue to host occasional pop-up shopping and sales events."

"We're just phasing it out slowly," Rider said.