The Sock Monster on the Brink

It has been hard not to notice how re-development has reshuffled the deck of Wallingford business district buildings: the gaping space where the dearly departed Guild 45^th theatres stood, and the newer leveled and now excavated portion of the block where the Fainting Goat and The Sock Monster once resided. It’s all in the name of progress, Seattle-style. More housing density: Make it so! And don’t bother with on-site parking, because we like to pretend that cars aren’t necessary!

But, I digress…This story is really a focused look at one of those businesses that was displaced by one of the redevelopment projects along 45^th, The Sock Monster. This delightful and fairly beloved little specialty store, that (as should be apparent by its name) sells socks, socks, and more socks, is struggling in its new location near Archie McPhee’s and the Wallingford Boys and Girls Club. Change is hard; and change has been especially hard for a small business recovering from the brutal triple-whammy of the pandemic, being booted out of its longtime storefront, and customers not realizing that the business still even exists.

Wallyhood heard from Kathleen, the owner of The Sock Monster. The store just celebrated its 14^th anniversary in Wallingford in May. But the circumstances cited above threaten to make this the last one. Fair citizens of Wallingford: WE CANNOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN!

In addition to the pandemic and being forced out of the little space where it had resided for most of those 14 years, The Sock Monster has been negatively affected by more subtle shifts, things like a change in the demographics of the foot traffic in the Archie McPhee block vs. that in the previous cluster of small, funky, independently-owned businesses. Whatever the reason: The Sock Monster business is down significantly, by a third, in its new location.

Owner Kathleen wrote to us to convey her plight and ask if we could let the community know about the state of things. We, of course, are happy/sad to do so. Her store adds wonderful variety to the fabric of Wallingford businesses. It would be a terrible loss if The Sock Monster were to be relegated to the ever-lengthening list of gone-but-not-forgotten establishments.

Kathleen noted that:

I just wanted to reach out and possibly have something written up about the store and remind the community to come to us before ordering socks online, we are great for gifts too.

We offer so many types of socks in one store, including lifetime-guarantee socks from Darn Tough, everyday wear for hiking and snow, and therapeutic socks such as compression and loose-fitting diabetic socks. The fun cotton graphics are just the start! We have cotton, bamboo, silk, wool, and cashmere socks.

We are also in Valpak right now. We had sent out emails and social media, but people still thought we had closed, so an ad that came to your doorstep seemed the way to go.

Everyone needs socks, no? It would be a small but significant gesture to stop by The Sock Monster before further contributing to the Amazonification of small retail, especially for our neighborhood. Sock it up, Wallingford!