This past year has undoubtedly been a memorable one for Boger’s Shoes, one of the two retailers to achieve the highest score on this year’s Gold Medal Service Award list.

Owners Erika and Brett Boger relocated their Boger’s Shoes store from its location in the historic Five Points area of Jacksonville in October of 2023 to a larger space in Orange Park, Florida. After having been at the 2,700-square-foot Jacksonville location for 65 years, the new store is 10,000 square feet. “And it’s absolutely wonderful!” says Erika Boger.

Business this past year has been “amazing,” the Bogers report. Despite rising costs and the challenging economy, the store’s retail sales were up 8-15% over 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Boger’s Shoes has been serving northeast Florida since 1957 and husband and wife team Brett and Erika are third generation owners. Brett’s grandfather founded Boger’s Shoes and Erika and Brett decided to carry on the business by purchasing it in 2015.

The store offers a wide variety of styles and brands including New Balance, Birkenstock, Vionic, Skechers and Aetrex. Most recently the store added Hey Dude and Brooks, as well.

Beyond footwear, Boger’s also makes custom orthotics in house, as well as elevations and offers shoe repair. The store makes diabetic inserts in house as well. Boger’s also recently began carrying clothing and accessories from Simply Southern and Hold Fast and home goods and high-quality dog leashes, too.

The Bogers describe their community as “very supportive — we have many loyal customers that we have been serving for decades.” The store has 12 employees, including five certified pedorthists. “We have been blessed with a staff that genuinely cares about each other, the store and our customers,” says Erika. “We offer health insurance, IRAs, PTO, etc., but I think the atmosphere is what makes people want to stay. We really are a family. All of our shoe fitters and C.Peds do brand-specific training online so that they are knowledgeable about what our customer’s individual needs are and how to best address them.”

Customer service is at the heart of what Boger’s Shoes does, and Erika notes that this requires patience, caring for the customers’ needs and being honest.

“Our customer service philosophy is to treat others the way you want to be treated,” says Erika. “The customer has changed over the years and become more demanding and impatient, in part, thanks to online retail. We value everyone that walks through our doors, and we treat them with respect regardless of the attitude they come in with.”

Being a top-scoring store on Footwear Insight’s Gold Medal Service Award list is an honor that Erika describes as “well-deserved recognition for our amazing staff.” She notes, “Without them we would not have the reputation that we have today. We are so thankful to be receiving this award and recognition. God is good and we are excited about the future and what’s in store for us in 2025!” —Cara Griffin