National Cap & Belt Centre

Running things out of Shop No. 86 has been our daily routine for quite some time now. It is not a very big space, yet a surprising number of caps and belts fit onto the racks if you stack them right. On most days, you will just find us here moving boxes around and making sure everything is where it should be. Since the shop isn't fancy, the wooden counters are old and the floor has seen better days. People usually come by looking for something specific, like a plain cap or a sturdy leather belt that won't fall apart. Decorations aren't really our thing. Having the stock ready for whoever walks in is much more important to us. When the heat hits, the ceiling fans get noisy and the labels on the boxes start to fade, but the items inside are what people are looking for. Dealing with suppliers and checking buckles takes up the bulk of our time. It is a straightforward way to earn a living without any fuss. Flashy signs aren't hanging out front, just the name above the door. Early mornings are for opening up, and we stay until the evening rush finally dies down. New shipments arrive in big crates that sometimes block the narrow aisle, making the air a bit dusty. We just move them aside and keep going. That’s how life goes here at the shop. Most people on this block are familiar faces to us by now.