LANCE GAITHER

lance.gaither@bluegrassnewsmedia.com

There is a new business in town, and its owners celebrated their grand opening by immediately giving back to the community right before the holidays.

Owners of The Shoe Lounge, Akili Simpson, 21, and Tyreke Ray, 22, wanted to celebrate the grand opening of their store by giving back to the community by purchasing Thanksgiving turkeys for families in need,

“We started a business to see where it went,” Simpson said. “The first day we did pretty good. For our grand opening, we thought it would be good idea to give turkeys back to those who can’t afford them. We got rid of 60 in a couple hours. It was we something we always wanted to do. We are gonna do a winter drive to give out some tobaggons, scarves and gloves soon. For Christmas, we are going to do a giveaway of some shoes to give back to the people who can’t afford it.”

The Shoe Lounge is not just any shoe store. The shop, located at 708 S. 4th St. in Danville, caters to sneaker heads, a term given to those with an affinity for Air Jordans and other high-end sneakers.

Simpson and Ray came up with their idea to start a high end sneaker store because they thought there was a demand for one in Danville that was not being met.

“It was something that came recently, we wanted to try something new out,” Simpson said. “We thought it would be a good investment to put in Danville. There are only a couple places to go get shoes, and they don’t always have the best selection. We thought we could start something new for Danville.”

Simpson said that their grand opening numbers have exceeded their expectations. They are planning to expand their store and start carrying clothing items.