No Flap Here: Flip Flops are Ready to Fly

Susi Ballard doesn't just see flip flops as casual wear. She'd wear the comfortable sandals all the time if she could.


That's partly what led her to throw away the high heels she wore in the corporate world and open a store selling the footwear she loves most.

"I live in them every day," says the Santa Cruz native in her 30s who worked in H-R for Dominican Hospital before investing in a Pacific Avenue business that opens Sept. 5 called Flip Flop Shops. "It's a huge stress reliever. They are so nice and freeing. As soon as I would get home from work, I'd take off my high heels and put them on."

She and husband Marshall had always wanted to start a business and this one felt right. While he works in planning for the Santa Clara Transit Authority, she will manage the store.

A Sept. 13 grand opening party will feature free shaved ice and a ribbon cutting by Mayor Hilary Bryant, a beach-loving woman who knows her way around casual footwear. Pro surfer Erica Hosseini will be on hand signing autographs. 

The timing seems a little off. Tourists are leaving and summer ending, but Ballard isn't discouraged.

"We would have liked to have opened sooner. But we all know the secret. Summer is just starting for us here. The weather is going to be the best over the next few months."

Located at 1528 Pacific Ave. between Verve Coffee and Zoccoli's Deli,  Flip Flop Shops can't help but get plenty of foot traffic (groan). And it only specializes in shoes that let toes go free, from more formal sandals to funky beach kicks. 

Some of the brands include Quicksilver, Olukai, Roxy, Reef, Cobian and Cushe, which all sound pretty cushy.

"It's so perfect for Santa Cruz," says Ballard. "Every time we're downtown, everywhere you go in Santa Cruz, we see people wearing flip flops and sandals and to be able to harness that energy and bring our attitude to Santa Cruz, is great."

The couple has two small children. Susi was raised in Davenport and then Santa Cruz. Marshall was raised in Ithaca, N.Y. and met Susi while both were studying abroad in Argentina. 

Founded in 2004 and based in Kennesaw, Georgia, Flip Flop Shops has 85 stores in 38 states. Founders Darin Kraetsch, Brian Curin and Alan Woods worked with other successful franchises, including Steve's Stone Cold Creamery, Moe's Southwest Grill, CNN and Nike. 

Some of its most successful locations in McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas and Universal Studios theme park. The company has generated $20 million in sales and $4 million in franchise fees.