A History Rich in Community-Oriented Customer Service
It was 1938 when Max and Yetta Ha
gler moved from Bay Shore to Riverhead, Long Island, New York, to open their first Richard York Shoes. In August of that year the couple welcomed twin forks residents to its their new 1000 square foot storefront on Main Street. Check out the photo on the left of Max standing in the original locale circa 1938 — spats, cigar and all!
Fast forward to 1962 when Stanley, Max and Yetta’s youngest son, returned to eastern Long Island to continue the business operations after Max’s passing. With Stan at the helm, Richard York Shoes enjoyed a growth period, even doubling the physical size of the Riverhead store by the late 1960s. In the early 1970s, Stan answered the call of the Hamptons providing the service, selection and value that folks from across the East End would travel to Riverhead to find. The Southampton satellite of Richard York Shoes opened on Main Street in the spring of 1972, where the company’s solo flagship is still anchored.
In 1985, Richard York Shoes then moved into the hands of Mitchell, Stan’s son. Mitch took over the reigns as Stan eased toward a 1995 retirement.
Today the store is staffed with friendly, knowledgeable, community-oriented people, each with no less than five years of footwear fitting experience. Even one of Max’s original key staff people is still going strong with nearly sixty years logged on the fitting stool. We’ve achieved over 200 years combined industry experience amongst the staff of five shoe dawgs. You’ll not find another independent, full service, family shoe store in Suffolk County that can claim that level of knowledgeable dedication to its customer’s needs. We’re proud to note the many recognitions we’ve received over the years from the likes of the United States Department of Commerce, the National Shoe Retailers Association, the Retail Council of New York State, and the Southampton Chamber of Commerce — where we were cited as their Southampton Business of the Year 2008, on our 70th anniversary serving the community. On multiple years Richard York has been a Dan’s Papers Best of the Best finalist.
Our shoe dawgs are your neighbors too-giving back to the community with donations of products and time. We’ve served on boards of Rotary International Chapters, Chambers of Commerce and our staff’s faith organizations. We’ve also volunteered for local fire departments and ambulance squads – four departments in all. We are one of only a handful of businesses in Southampton Village whose employees respond to emergency medical calls during the business day – a true vestige of small town American values.
Recently, we’ve gone a little green too; in an environmentally friendly way, that is. Richard York Shoes reuses or recycles nearly 90% of its waste stream. We’re converting our electronics to Energy Star compliant items through attrition. Heck, we’ll even help you recycle your old footwear or extend the item’s life through our resoling service partner.
From nine month to 99 years, we cover the full spectrum of comfort, casual, and athletic footwear needs from nearly all the popular brand names.
