Fourteen years ago today, I unlocked the front door of 410 Main Street for the first time as a store owner. April 14th, 2012. I had a few racks of shoes, a lot of anxiety, and my dog Albert on his bench outside. I didn't know if anyone would walk in.
Someone did. Then someone else. And 14 years later, we're still here.
The Idea Was Simple
Danville deserved a specialty running store. Somewhere runners could walk in, get their gait analyzed by someone who actually cared, and leave in a pair of shoes that felt right — not just whatever was on clearance at the big box store. I thought of the idea in 2010. Took two years of planning, saving, and stubborn belief before I could pull the trigger.
I had no retail experience. I'd never managed a store. What I had was a love for running, a community of friends who ran with me, and the conviction that if we built a place that treated people right, they'd come back.
The First Thursday Group Run
The very next Thursday after we opened, seven people showed up for our first group run. Seven. I remember being legitimately nervous whether anyone would come. We ran three miles through downtown Danville, laughed about pace and pain, and when we got back to the store someone said, "Same time next week?"
That was April 2012.
We haven't missed a Thursday since. Not for weather. Not for holidays. Not when I've been sick. Every Thursday at 6:15pm — 700+ consecutive weeks — somebody shows up to run. I've watched couples meet at those runs and get married. I've watched first-timers hit their first 5K, then their first 10K, then their first half. I've watched grandparents bring grandkids. I've watched grief and joy and everything in between.
Three Weddings from a Shoe Store
This is one I still can't believe. Three couples have met at The Brick and ended up getting married. Three. I officiated one of them. I'm not sure what that says about running or about love, but it says something about community — that this place brought people together who were supposed to find each other.
The Bike Shop, The Timing Business, The Family
In 2013 we launched The Brick Event Timing, because the running community needed someone to time local races and nobody else was doing it. We've timed hundreds of events across Danville, Clarksville, Rocky Mount, Lynchburg — from small charity 5Ks to the biggest half marathons in the region.
In 2022 we expanded upstairs and added the bike shop. Full service, tune-ups, tri gear. Because the running community had grown to include the triathletes and the cyclists, and we wanted to serve them too.
And somewhere in there, we became the store where people come not just to buy shoes but to figure out what to do about their knee pain, how to start training, what race to run next. We became a place.
Albert
I can't write about The Brick without writing about Albert. He was there on day one, sitting on his bench outside the store, greeting every single customer with a tail wag and an occasional stolen sock. He was beloved by our regulars, tolerated by our vendors, and suspicious of the UPS guy. He was perfect.
Albert crossed the rainbow bridge a few years ago, but he's never really left. His photo is still up. His name is still on the chatbot on our website. And every time I walk into the shop in the morning, I half-expect to hear his paws on the hardwood.
This store is a little bit his too.
Thank You, Danville
Here's the part I want to be clearest about: we wouldn't be here without you. Every runner who showed up on Thursday. Every customer who drove over from Lynchburg or Martinsville because you wanted a real fitting. Every parent who brought a kid for their first pair of cross-country spikes. Every nurse on her feet 12 hours who finally found shoes that didn't hurt.
You made this place. We just kept the lights on.
What Comes Next
Honestly? More of the same. More Thursday runs. More fittings. More races. More stories that start with "I walked into The Brick and..."
We just launched something called The Brick Wall — a live wall of memories where anyone can share their story of the store. If you've got one, I'd love to read it. I'll be reading every single submission that comes through.
Come Celebrate
Tonight's group run — 6:15pm, April 14th — is a birthday party. The miles are on us. Come run with me and whoever shows up. Walk if you want. Bring a dog. Bring a friend.
14 years. One store. One community. One ville.
Thank you for running it with us.
— Adam
