February 18, 2013 - John Fluevog Shoes

In 1832, John Fluevog's distant relative (far removed on his mother's friend's side) William Gooderham and friend James Worts opened a whiskey distillery on the location of their already successful Grist Mill on Toronto's banks of Lake Ontario. Being in a prime shipping position on both the lake and adjacent to The Canadian National Railway mainline, Gooderham & Worts became the largest distillery in the World by 1860, producing over 2 million gallons a year of Canadian Rye Whisky.

After weathering the Ontario Temperance Movement and US Prohibition, Gooderham & Worts remained North America's leading producers of rye whisky, until selling the company in 1923 to a rival company that remained in the location until the 1990s.

Abandoned for nearly a decade, the location of the former distillery of Gooderham & Worts found economic flourishment as the Victorian brick buildings attracted the attention of Hollywood Producers. With over 800 film and television productions, The Distillery District became the number one filming location in Canada, filming some classic gems including Half Baked, X Men, Tommy Boy, Three Men And A Baby, and Blues Brothers 2000.

In 2003, the former distillery of Gooderham & Worts was redeveloped into an exciting community of retail shops, restaurants, and galleries dedicated to art, culture, and entertainment.

Reflecting John's positive and bright messages, the new Fluevog retail space in Toronto's Distillery District will be completely Fluevogified. The Distillery District is the largest preserved collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in the World, perfect for a relaxing shopping experience among the most unique (often Victorianesque) shoes in the World. In addition, on opening day, John will release one men's and one women's limited edition shoe available at that location only.

It certainly won't be long now as John and his son Adrian are putting together the last pieces of the puzzle. It certainly won't be long now, and we can't wait to see you there on on Saturday, May 4th!