In her own words Molly Mast-Koss and her father Greg Mast at their Mast Shoes store in Ann Arbor. Greg’s parents, Walter and Helen Mast, founded the store in 1942.
Mast Shoes
Member since: 1976 Owner: Molly Mast-Koss Location: 2519 Jackson Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Opened: 1942 Specialty: Finding customers perfectly fitting shoes MRA services: Workers’ compensation
Story by RACHEL SCHRAUBEN Photos by STEVE JESSMORE Does your business have a unique story? Contact rschrauben@retailers.com.
Mast Shoes was founded in 1942 on Main Street in Ann Arbor by Walter and Helen Mast. As the customer base grew, Walter and Helen opened two new locations and bore two sons, Tom and Greg. After Walter and Helen passed away in the mid-1990s, Greg and Tom decided to consolidate their three locations into their most popular and lively location in the Westgate Shopping Center. Tom retired in 2016. Greg and his daughter, Molly Mast-Koss, currently co-own and run the store together. Molly Mast-Koss, shares the store’s history and the legacy her grandparents built. Shortly after 1942, when Mast Shoes was founded, my grandfather was drafted to fight in WWII. My grandmother, Helen, lived above the store, ran the business and cared for their first baby, Tom, until my grandfather returned. My grandparents never talked about this time when my grandfather was gone. During the pandemic, I thought about what my grandmother would’ve had to work through with her husband overseas, along with being a new mother. It connected us as I tried to figure out how to maneuver Mast Shoes through the uncertainties and fears the pandemic brought. I kept thinking, “if she could get the business through that crisis, I can get it through this one.” By the summer of 2004, our Westgate store grew busier and busier. It made sense to con-
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MICHIGAN RETAILER FEB / MAR 2021
