A large retail space on Bow Street in Freeport was too attractive to remain closed for long.

Last Friday, national shoe retailer The Walking Company opened at 15 Bow St., where J.L. Coombs closed its doors in early December. The Walking Company, which emphasizes comfort in its products, also has a store in Tte Maine Mall, and more than 200 nationwide.

Artemas Foster, manager of The Walking Company store at the Mall, said that Freeport is an inviting option for his company. The Walking Company has signed a four-year lease with a five-year option with building owner Edgar Leighton.

“It’s a great spot,” Foster said. “The amount of tourism that goes through Freeport is a huge attraction for us. We’ve been looking for a way to expand our market in Maine for a while now. It was a really good way to occupy a known space.”

Foster said that Andre Juarez will manage the new Freeport store, which will start out with seven to eight employees. The company was able to quickly get the store ready for business, he said.

“There was a lot of stuff in place,” Foster said. “We just took out some of the fixtures, and we put in some countertops and a digital foot analysis unit. We are primarily concerned with comfort. We primarily think of ourselves as a health and wellness company.”

Like Coombs, The Walking Company will offer sale items in the downstairs floor, and regularly priced items on the main floor. The store will be open from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 11-6 on Sunday.

The quick turnaround of a new business at 15 Bow St. came as no surprise to Keith McBride, executive director of the Freeport Economic Development Corp. McBride said when J.L. Coombs announced it was closing that the vacancy would not be difficult to fill.

“It’s a visible spot, and the size of that building makes it very desirable for retail,” McBride told the Tri-Town Weekly at the time. “I wouldn’t expect it would be vacant for very long.”

McBride said last week that The Walking Company should fit in well.

“It’s a really nice addition to downtown shopping, and a nice use for a spot that has been used as a shoe store,” he said.

McBride also noted Freeport’s long history with the shoe industry, first from the manufacturing end and now as a retail center.

“The Freeport Historical Society has a nice exhibit on shoemaking right now,” McBride said. “It’s part of this community’s economic history and it continues to be part of its economic identity.”

Brandon Conley, assistant manager at The Walking Company in Freeport, holds up a pair of one of the company’s more popular sandals last Friday, when the store opened.Staff photo by Larry Grard