Longtime State College business owner prepares to retire, close final store
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- The Barefoot shoe store will close after 51 years in business.
- The store is running heavy discounts before its lease expires on May 31.
- Owner Art Fine will retire and spend more time with his family.
A longtime State College shoe store is preparing to close its doors.
Barefoot, located at 130 E. College Ave., is running a progressive markdown sale to liquidate its inventory of footwear, clothing, furniture and fixtures before closing at the end of May when its lease expires. Owner Art Fine, who will turn 77 years old this year, said he’s preparing to retire after decades in retail with “memories that will last a lifetime.”
Fine, a Philadelphia-area native who studied at Penn State and stuck around ever since, serves as one of State College’s longest-tenured retailers with more than 51 years of business experience. His career spanned several shops that thrived downtown as new challenges, including the advent of online shopping competitors, complicated his work.
“I love my business,” Fine told the Centre Daily Times. “It’s been a great run, but I’m getting too old to deal with it.”
Barefoot, which merged with Metro shortly after its 2020 closure, is currently running a 40% sale on its entire inventory, including shoe brands like Ugg, Birkenstock, Dr. Martens and Vans. Discounts may grow even larger throughout the spring as the store nears its final days.
Fine said business is strong after beginning markdown sales for the store, which is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“I don’t need the notoriety for people to come up to me and say, ‘Oh, Art. I read you’re going out of business, and I started crying.’ I need them to say they heard I’m going out of business and that they’re going to come down for a great sale on Ugg boots and Birkenstocks,” Fine joked.
Fine’s businesses across State College once also included the custom T-shirt shop Peoples Nation and Sample Sale, the former women’s clothing, shoe and accessory shop on South Atherton Street.
Once he retires, Fine said he hopes to spend more time with his wife, Nancy, and their children and grandchildren. He also plans to spend more time traveling and painting landscapes with oils and watercolors.
This story was originally published March 9, 2026 at 5:42 AM.
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