Bennie's Shoes, an Atlanta mainstay for more than 100 years, has announced it will soon close permanently. A graphic attached to the Facebook post announcing the closure reads "Lost our lease." The store, located in Buckhead Crossing shopping center (2625 Piedmont Road,) spans 8,100 square feet and was once one of three locations of the locally owned business in metro Atlanta.
Bennie Shemaria immigrated to the United States when he was just 16. He came from the Isle of Rhodes, a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, and through Ellis Island before finding his way to Atlanta in 1909. Shemaria opened his store, originally just shoe repair, on Broad Street near present day's Aderhold Learning Center at Georgia State, in 1912. When downtown, Bennie's was one of at least three Jewish-owned shoe focused retailers in the area.
Walter's - located at 66 Decatur Street - has been a destination for Georgia State students for generations, having first opened in 1952.
Friedman's Shoes has been in business since 1929 and even had an ESPN 30 for 30 chronicling the store's ties to the sports community. (The video reveals an amazing link between it and Zappos.com.) The store is located at 209 Mitchell Street, around the corner from the original Bennie's.
Bennie's Shoes relocated to Broadview Plaza in 1959 and after an opportunistic purchase of Johnson & Murphy "factory rejects" in 1970, entered the discount shoe business. The current Bennie's occupies space that previously housed the bakery of former Buckhead Crossing anchor Cub Foods. Matt Green, one of the store's managers, remembers fondly coming to get doughnuts from Cub when Bennie's was across the street, saying "they had a good bakery."
Satellite stores opened in Norcross and Marietta (which for a short time relocated to Kennesaw) but both closed around 2008. Mark Shemaria, Bennie's grandson and current primary owner of the business, consolidated both merchandise and equipment to focus on the Buckhead store.
For decades, Bennie's was the spot for shoes in Atlanta. Politicians, athletes, business people, and countless savvy shoppers found their way to Bennie's. Atlanta's favorite cheapskate, Clark Howard, took to Bennie's for the cover of Atlanta Magazine's Best of Atlanta in 2000.
In the age of the internet, Bennie's kept itself relevant and vital to the community by providing some of the best shoeshines and repairs money could buy. Customers came for repairs but returned for the stellar service the store provided. That said, like any brick and mortar, things were not easy and vendors with whom they had decades long relationships went from trusted vendor to chief rival as manufactures opened individual websites and brick and mortar stores of their own.
When asked why not simply move or downsize elsewhere in the center, the answer is basically what you'd expect: the thought of moving and starting over is just too great an ordeal to consider, especially in a post-pandemic world with less need for dress shoes.
Plans call for the store to close permanently as of the close of business on Sunday October 1. According to store employees, new shoe repairs will be taken until Saturday, September 23.
In advance of the closure, all in-stock merchandise - including name brand shoes, cleaner, polish and more - are all up to 20 per cent off with the deals expected to increase in the coming weeks as inventory sells. Assorted fixtures and equipment including two vending machines will also be made available for sale.
ToNeTo Atlanta reported September 6 that Office Depot, located in a space adjacent to Bennie's, is also closing. According to a source close to the center, current plans call for existing tenant Michaels to relocate from their current space within the center to the Office Depot and Bennie's spaces. The existing Michaels is a little more than 17,000 square feet but has an awkward layout whereas the combined Office Depot + Bennie's is a little more than 30,000 square feet and will allow for a more traditional store design. No word yet on what may backfill the current Michaels space.
Additional reading on Bennie's Shoes and its rich history in Atlanta can be found here and here with great reporting from the Atlanta Jewish Times and Northside Neighbor, respectively.
What is your fondest memory of Bennie's Shoes? Can you think of another Atlanta retail business that has been in business for more than a century? What would you like to see open in place of Michaels if their relocation comes to fruition?
Please share your thoughts below
37 comments:
I heard the Michaels is definitely going to be a Trader Joe's
Will miss this store's excellent service and selection of footwear!
Wow, really hate this. Bennie's was the go-to place for nice shoes, repairs and
a shine while there. Very disappointing to see an iconic Atlanta small business close to make way for some generic corporate retailer that will probably close in three years.
Those crying loudest are those that go into Bennies - TRY ON the shoes, and then buy online. It's true that vendors also became their loyal customer's worst enemy. It happens with a lot of retail items - from art supplies to picture frames.
I quit going to Bennie's years ago. Every time I'd go in, I felt as if I was being hustled by the smarmy sales people. The final straw was when I brought in shoes for repair and one of the owners actually insulted me and my shoes. I say good riddance.
If you need large-sized dress shoes, try 2BigFeet.com. In 2024 we will have Michael Ellis Footwear dress shoes available in large sizes as well with widths up to 6E.
What are we going to do?!? My husband is 66 and has gone to Bennies ever since his feet became 13,then 14, now 15! So I guess at least 55 years. Our youngest is a 16-17. I could run over and grab shoes and socks that fit, all right there. I’ll miss the family feel and the old Buckhead vibe. Enjoy retirement
Bennies was a good store. So sad they are closing.
Bennie was my great-great-uncle! Proud to be part of the family. This is the end of an era, but what an incredible run.
No mention of Louie? Why?
No mention of Louie????
I heard it was going to be a Whataburger
Kind of surprised the Michael's is taking the spot. I was thinking they would just redo the whole center. I used to shop in that center especially at Michael's before Buckhead became such a mess.
Aaaaw this makes me sad.
When I ran for Mayor, my media consultant said, we need a “real” shoe store, so of course, we went to Bennie’s and asked if we could film a television commercial. They were all so great! We filmed it and now, six years later, people still ask me, “Are those the shoes👠?😊
So heartbreaking to see a local institution like this closing. Bennie's has been so great about providing personalized service to everyone who walks through the door. So few places nowadays have their philosophy and heart.
Good selection of products but the people running it were generally speaking way too loose with their standards of customer service. Each time I went for shoes recently, a normal transaction turned to political conversation or remarks about the government and their choices to quote-unquote hurt us all. Irregardless of where one stands, that's not something that's needed in a transaction and will color whether people returned to the business. Obviously.
Bring back Cub’s! Great low prices.
You will be missed!
Whoever wrote rhis article did not do their homework. Bennie had 3 sons. Jack, Hymie and Louie. All 3 worked at Bennie's and became equal partners when Bennie retired. Louie had a close friend, Tom Smith, who in turn had a close friend who was VP of Genesco shoes in Nashville. Louie flew to Nashville and was able to purchase Johnson and Murphy factory rejects and discontinued shoes. This was in 1970 and the beginning of selling shoes. Bennie,s was admired and respected throughout the entire shoe industry.Customers came from all over the USA. When Jack retired His son Mark took his place as owner. When Louie and Hymie retired Louie's son Brian Shemaria became an equal owner of Bennie's. Louie'daughter Stephanie Rosenberg was the office manager. Brian left the business 2 years ago leaving Mark as the sole owner. Jack took care of the cash register. Hymie took carw of the shoe repair and Louie was King of the Shoes. Now you know the whole story.
Whoever wrote this article didnot do their homework.Bennie had 3 sons Jack, Hymie and Louie who were shoemakers. when Bennie retired his 3 sons became equal partners. Louie had a close friend, Tom Smith who inturn had a friend who was vp of Genesco shoes in Nashville. Louie flew to Nashville and purchased 375 pairs damaged and factory rejects of Johnson and Murphy Shoes. This was the beginning of selling shoes in 1970. Bennie's was respected and admired throughout the shoe industry. They had customers from all over the USA. When Jack retired his son Mark took his place as owner. When Louie and Hymie retired Louie's son, Brian Shemaria became an equal partner. Louie's daugher Stephanie Rosenberg is the office manager. Brian left the business 2 years ago. Jack took care of the cash register. Hymie was in charge of the shoe repair. Louie is and has always been King of the Shoes. Now you know the whole story.
Who cares about the history??? They are still a bunch of A-holes.
Irregardless?
Your media consultant clearly did not understand the demographics of ATL. You could have won if your campaign was run better.
Don’t care about their history. I took a very nice pair of $300 shoes for repair. The owner required me to pay for the repair in advance- never heard of that. Would I leave my expensive shoes there for a $25 heel repair? Not very nice and terrible customer service!
There’s always one .. the victim.
Old guard establishment. Naysayers will never understand. Breakfast at White House?
Old guard establishment. Naysayers will never understand. Breakfast at White House?
@ Anonymous at 10:09, put down the crack pipe, please.
When Louie retired, I quit going in to Bennie's. I could not deal with asshole Mark. Mark will be remembered as the person who ruined a 114 year old business.
Nobody could repair shoes better than Bennie's Shoes. They did not price gouge you, like Trio or Santana. I will miss them.
Went there to have a light gouge in one shoe repaired. Guy basically did nothing but polish them. I mentioned he missed the repair. He attempted to do it on the spot using a darker dye. Incompetent would represent a compliment. And the sales guys were smarmy. Glory days long past
I always had a great experience dealing with Bennie’s. Louie and “Fox” at the Buckhead location before it moved and Brian and a salesman named Jerry or Gerry at the Gwinnett location. The business changed when manufacturers like Allen Edmonds for example opened free standing stores, selling direct to consumers and offering big discounts. COVID sure didn’t help. Sorry to see them go.
Matt was the best Bennie's Shoes had to offer. He would help me pick out the most perfect shoe laces. Even if it took a 1/2 hour. Thank you Matt.
Neal Boortz used to do ads for them on his show back in the day
If you want really nice shoes, a really nice selection, very reasonably priced plus on holidays they have percent off sales-try the cole Haan outlet in Dawsonville. Don’t go to Lenox, go to the outlet in Dawsonville
They were so helpful to me. Being 6’ 9” , 280 with size 17 feet it’s hard to find clothes and shoes anywhere. They always fit me the old fashioned way, on a bench putting the shoes on my feet. And they didn’t look up the leg of my shorts to see my junk either. Can’t say that about a lot of shoe stores, the guy always checking to see if I’m packing
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