PORTLAND, Ore. — They say you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes. I guess that makes Ian Williams a person with a lot of sole.
"We probably have maybe 40 or 50 shoes," said Ian Williams.
Sneakers to be specific. Each one is special.
"Sneakers, for me, they're an opportunity to express yourself," he said. "The colors and the materials and the stories that all go behind it."
Stories that line the walls of William's shop in Old Town Portland.
A shop that does not, interestingly enough, sell these shoes. It sells coffee.
Deadstock Coffee just might be Portland's finest sneaker-themed coffee shop.
"Coffee should be dope is our theme or our motto," Williams said. "We're like the Disney World of coffee I guess. We just want people to be happy, honestly."
The former Nike janitor turned shoe developer decided five years ago to start his own business. He built it from his sneakers up, moving from a cart to his shop in Old Town/China Town.
"I love it down here," he said.
His goal is to bring people of all backgrounds together over a cup of Joe.
"A place where people can go and chill and hang, be by yourself be with a group of people," he said. "That's where the idea for Deadstock came from."
"This is a great place to kind of act as my power source, to stay connected and all that good stuff," said Chris Campbell, who is a regular customer at the shop.
At a time when chatting with friends at the local coffee shop seems like a distant memory, Williams is brewing up new ones, which is helping him keep his doors open during this pandemic when so many others are closing.
"We have always been that community space thankfully," Williams said. "Nobody was going to let that go away."
It's a success story that is getting noticed.
This week, Williams made Portland Business Journal's top 40 under 40 list.
He was even the focus of an MSNBC special about small businesses surviving the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I've gotten a lot of phone calls over the last few days from people who are like, 'You know, I watched the story. I feel like you and I are friends so I want to do what I can to support," he said.
For a man who has filled many shoes, these latest ones are some of Williams' proudest.
"It's nice to be able to be recognized for a lot of hard work, but there still more things to be done," he said.
There is definitely more to come.
Williams has plans to open a second Deadstock Coffee at Northeast 30th Avenue and Alberta Street on the East side.
"Deadstock Dos coming soon," he said. "We were supposed to open in January, but you know, corona."
It's almost like Williams has become the unofficial mayor of Old Town.
"Yeah, I think its true," he said. "I might run for mayor of Portland one day."
"He loves the community and my goal is to support businesses that lead to a cause to a purpose and his businesses leads to that," Campbell said. "So that's why I'm here every day."