When a customer visits The Heel Shoe Fitters in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the retailer’s aim is not just to sell them shoes, but also to give them an experience that will keep them coming back. And telling others about it, too.

“Our goal is to give our customers the best shopping experience they’ve ever had,” owner Troy Dempsey tells us. He describes The Heel’s customer experience as being built on a few core pillars: Expert Sit-and-Fit Model, Breadth of Inventory, and Valued Staff offering attentive service. It includes a consultative approach driven by a highly trained team that is “genuinely motivated, as they are incentivized by sales productivity and customer reviews, but not paid using a commission structure,” explains Dempsey.

Dempsey tell us that the elevated experience the store offers is done so with “the explicit goal of making our customers evangelists for The Heel,” adding, “once a customer has experienced a professional fitting, they usually don’t settle for less.”

Founded in Green Bay in 1970 by Bob Sanderson, The Heel originally specialized in trendy boots like Frye and Zodiac, as well as leather goods. Today, The Heel operates from two locations — its main store and an adjacent outlet — with a primary focus on being a sit-and-fit comfort shoe store. The Heel carries an immense selection, stocking approximately 70,000 pairs from over 100 brands, covering most major categories: athletic, outdoor, work, casual, and dress, along with complementary apparel from brands like Kuhl, Vuori, and UGG.

The Heel also has an online business, selling primarily through TheHeel.com, and a small component through Amazon. The website is also a key marketing tool that allows The Heel to take full advantage of digital marketing opportunities that support its main priority: the brick-and-mortar business.

Employing around 50 staff members, Dempsey credits his exec team, including VP Brennan Tahtinen VP, CFO Jeri Starich and Store Manager Lauren Nelson, for setting the tone for “our culture and what we want The Heel to be.” He says, “Our strategy for attracting and retaining our team is centered on creating a positive, sustainable culture. A major part of that is ensuring our team has a good work-life balance through very intentional hours of operation: we are open Monday through Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m., and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Crucially, we are closed every Sunday, as well as most major holidays, including Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day.”

Dempsey’s own start in the shoe business  began when he worked at Tradehome Shoes while attending college in Upper Michigan. “I enjoyed the work so much that I pursued a decade-long career as a manager with them,” he says. That growing interest in foot health led him to complete a Pedorthic program through Northwestern University in Chicago. Soon after, Dempsey relocated to Green Bay in 2009 to partner with Bob Sanderson, eventually taking full ownership of The Heel a few years later.

As for 2025, overall business has been a little better than expected, Dempsey tells us, considering the general disruption in the retail landscape. “We suspect some of our gain this year is a byproduct of the rising price of footwear due to tariffs, but nonetheless, consumer demand in our market has proven stronger than we anticipated,” he says. Brands seeing “excellent growth” at The Heel in 2025 include Kizik, New Balance lifestyle, and Topo Athletic. The retailer also reports a strong year with perennial favorites Birkenstock, UGG, and Brooks Running .

When it comes to challenges, Dempsey says a persistent one in the current marketplace is managing customer expectations around  special orders. “In the age of next-day Amazon delivery, our customers expect special orders to arrive within a few days,” he explains. “However, many of our vendors take a week or more before they even ship wholesale orders, which creates a frustrating gap between expectation and reality. We try  to manage the customer’s expectations up front by communicating delays immediately and consistently.”

What does it mean to be one of two top-scoring Gold Medal stores this year? “It makes me incredibly proud and thankful for our entire team,” says Dempsey. “It’s a testament to our team’s collective effort in working toward the common goal of giving every single customer an amazing experience.”