In 1977, having been trained by their father in the ways of shoe repair, brothers John and Joel Byrns opened The Awl Shoppe, taking in their first dollar on June 4th. Soon after, they were joined by Al Wickstrom and began gaining a reputation in the city for their quality work. Situated in a strip mall on the corner of 33rd St. and Avenue P North, the store specialized in shoe and boot repair while also retailing work boots. Within a couple of years, the company had grown enough to start hiring a staff and thinking about expanding.