Alex Gary | September 17, 2024
John and Marianne Stanton stand outside of Stanton Shoes, 311 State St. John, the third-generation owner of the business, has closed it for good and will auction off the inventory through Beloit Auction & Realty later this year.
Stanton Shoes, a fixture in downtown Beloit since the Great Depression, John Stanton, the third-generation owner of the business at 311 State St., said the physical demands of properly running the store became too much.
“It’s my knees,” the 72-year-old said. “It’s just time.”
Stanton Shoes had its beginning in the shoe biz when brothers Charles and Harry Stanton moved from Janesville to Beloit to open Stanton Shoes in 1907. The business actually failed. Charles went into insurance and Harry went to work at the Brown Shoe Store.