NORWICH – Even in tough economic times, The Village Cobbler is showing signs of growth, leaving behind its previous location on South Broad Street to take up a new, larger residence in the center of the city.

Following a 12-year occupancy at 29 S. Broad St., The Village Cobbler and Leather Shop made the move to its new location at 10 S. Broad St. – formerly Ives Cream – last weekend. It was a quick move, according to business owner John Behory, who partners with his son Mark.

“We closed at 3 o’clock last Friday and have been moving since,” John Behory said, adding that no time was wasted in the transition. The shop reopened in its new space by its usual business hours on Tuesday. “We still have a ways to go, though.”

“We were so cramped. We knew we wanted to expand,” explained Behory’s wife Carole, who works in the shop with her husband.

While the Behorys settle into their new location, their previous shop near the movie theater sits vacant, with boxes and merchandise still to be moved from the basement. It’s just one more vacant shop that adds to a line of empty storefronts on the eastern side of S. Broad, observed Carole.

The move was a slightly unsettling, “knowing stores are closed on the other end,” she added. “I’m hoping our old place will be filled quickly.”