SOUTH LOOP — The crowd of runners waiting outside the South Loop's new Fleet Feet location when it opened Monday was so energized, CEO Dave Zimmer says it "brought a tear to my eye."
"I was so overwhelmed from the level of excitement from the [South Loop] community," Zimmer said Monday at the third Chicago location of the Fleet Feet franchise, joining stores in Old Town and Lincoln Square.
The storefront in the Roosevelt Collection at 150 W. Roosevelt Road was a long time coming, Zimmer said.
"We've been attempting to open in the South Loop since 2003," he said. "We believe it's gonna be great for our current consumers that go up to the North Side. We hope to add an element of community to the running groups that are already down here, and give their runners a place to buy their gear locally."
In that spirit, Fleet Feet kicked off its grand opening with a "fun run" at 6:30 p.m. Monday.
Zimmer said Monday's run will be the first of "many, many" runs, workshops and other programming for South Loop runners.
"Fleet Feet Sports does over 300 runs per year, and we now expect that to go up by a third," he said.
The South Loop Fleet Feet Sports is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.
