SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Shoemakers has been a staple in the South San neighborhood since 1976. The business was founded by Terry Armstrong and Lew Hayden.
Armstrong and Hayden had a vision of how genuine leather shoes should be made. With determination, and the support of their families, the two pooled their resources to start their first factory at 101 New Laredo Highway in a corner of an unused aircraft hangar on the South Side of San Antonio.
Since then, the company has grown, but the core values of quality, comfort and family have remained.
Whitney Zwieg and Lari Young are sisters who have been going to SAS since they were little girls. They shared fond memories of their trips from Corpus Christi to San Antonio, all to buy a new pair of shoes.
“My parents always said, ‘You can get a pair of shoes.’ So we would go through, and we’d look and we’d try them all on,” Zwieg said. “Then (the) lotions smelled like our grandmother’s house, so we would always get a lotion to remind us of (her).” The retro vibe is one SAS district manager Eloy Alvarado said he has heard many times.
“For many generations, they come in and they brag about how when they were kids, they (would) come in. They came in with their grandmother, grandpa, and now, they’re bringing their kids,” Alvarado said. The San Antonio Shoes location on New Laredo Highway is open between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The store is also open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Saturdays.
SAS also has four additional locations around San Antonio. For more store information, click here.