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Tarpon Family Business An Enduring Enterprise

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By Cheryl  Bentley | The Suncoast News

Published: July 12, 2008

History has a way of repeating itself.

Almost a century ago, master shoemaker Vasile George Faklis arrived in Tarpon Springs from the Greek island of Symi and began plying his trade. In addition to making shoes, Faklis could also diagnose and correct his customers' foot problems.

Today, his grandson, also named Vasile George, tends to people's feet at Faklis Orthopedic Service, on Tarpon Avenue. A board-certified and state-licensed orthotist, his knowledge of the human foot is up a notch from that of his grandfather, who learned his craft through an apprenticeship in Greece.

The grandson's training allows him to evaluate, design, make and fit orthotic devices to correct and support the various parts of the human neuromusculoskeletal system. His biggest business comes from products for the feet and ankles.

His uncle, Michael V. Faklis, 70, continues his father Vasile George's trade as shoemaker and co-owner of Faklis Department Store & Shoe Repair. This other part of the family business is in the same downtown building.

The younger Vasile's father, George Vasile Faklis, 78, is also a co-owner of the business and still puts in full days working there.

In an age of big-box retailers, keeping it all in the family has helped the business survive, said George. With family members working, the store does not need employees, he said.

The family also owns the building, making for additional lower operating expenses.

They don't try to compete with the big retailers, George said, but concentrate on supplying customers with the products they want. "We change as times change," he said.

Many of their clients have been coming in for years and have become friends.

The little store can come up with surprise items. Recently, a customer asked if they had cowboy hats and vests. Not a problem as to the cowboys hats, but they were out of vests, George replied.

But the Faklis passion still appears to lie with shoes. Get all the Faklises talking about the kinds of shoes people wear these days and you will hear horror tales of American feet imprisoned in the cruelty of improperly fitted shoes. Wearing the wrong shoes can result in medical problems down the line, explained orthotist Vasile.

The store is known for being able to give customers the proper shoe fit. They come from as far as Tampa and Sarasota to seek the Faklis foot and shoe expertise, said George.

Although he often deals in rehabilitation – some of it needed because of those badly fitting shoes – a large part of his orthotics business comes from helping athletes focus on injury prevention and performance enhancement, said Vasile.

The business began as a shoe store on Safford Avenue in 1912. The then-16-year-old Vasile George Faklis started it with his older brother Nikita. The brothers made both orthopedic and street shoes.

The enterprise became a department store in 1924. It changed locations within the downtown area several times. During the Depression, the brothers split up because the store could not support two owners.

Vasile moved his business several times until 1943, when he bought the western part of the present building, on the north side of Tarpon Avenue, west of Safford Avenue. The family bought the eastern half in 1970.

George was one of six children and the eldest of three boys. He remembered growing up on West Park Street, near the old Tarpon Springs Elementary School.

He often helped out in the store as a child. "There was a time to play and a time to work," he said.

The elder Vasile George retired at 72 but continued to come to the store every day. The store still has the personal touch that has characterized it since the days of his father, George noted.

"If you treat your customers right and are honest, they'll come back. That was my father's motto, and that's our motto."

Cheryl Bentley can be reached at 727-815-1069 or cbentley@suncoastnews.com.

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