Flip flop boutique opens 2nd Charlotte-area shop

Just in time for spring, a store that bills itself as the "only global lifestyle retail franchise to capture the essence of the flip flop connoisseur way of life," is opening a store in Blakeney Town Center, on Rea Road.

The Flip Flop Shops' Blakeney store is scheduled to open Thursday, March 3. Another Flip Flop Shops store at Carolina Place Mall in Pineville opened last spring. 

Flip Flop Shops is a franchised business, with 35 stores operating now and another 236 planned to open by 2013. Locally, both stores are owned by husband and wife team Pam and Jeff Burrus. In a press release about the opening, Jeff Burrus extolled the virtues of foot freedom.

"The decision to open a Flip Flop Shops in Charlotte felt right, just like finding the perfect pair of flip flops," Burrus said. "Our flip flops are an extension of who we are and what we stand for. We live, work and play with our toes exposed while wearing the freedom of flip flops on our feet."

The shops carry brands such as REEF, Sanuk and Rainbow, and strive to provide flip flops that have become a "premium lifestyle necessity." The shops, which entice shoppers with the smell of coconut suntan oil, sell flip flops for between $20 and $100.