BELLEFONTE — Sitting empty since they were built last year, the five stores in front of the Match Factory on Benner Pike are finally getting their first tenant — and it looks like it will be a kick.
Daughter-and-mother combo Anne Fisher and Deborah Rhoades, of Howard, are opening Centre Boot Company on Saturday, Sept. 1, delaying their new venture’s start until after the Grange Fair.
The shop will sell work boots, kids’ boots and women’s and men’s western boots.
Fisher said she has worked in retail for a long time and always wanted to open a boot shop. She said she loves Bellefonte and feels it is a perfect location with all the new exciting businesses that are coming into the area. Plus, she said, now people won’t have to drive so far to get the boots they need.
“We will literally drive an hour to two hours just to find a good boot shop, so we wanted to bring the community something closer,” said Fisher. “There are so many construction companies and manufacturing companies here that we wanted to provide them a resource to get the things that they need to do their jobs.
“It’s close to home. You don’t have to drive over the mountain for an hour to go to the Amish to get something. We just felt there was a real big need here in the community for that.”
She said that many companies offer vouchers to their employees for work boots that they need. Fisher and Rhoades want to be a local resource for those workers, who previously have had to travel quite a distance or shop online.
“You want to get something that fits if you are wearing them all day. This way, you can try them on and make sure you get what you want,” said Fisher.
She said Bellefonte Borough conducted a study recently about what kind of businesses were missing in the community and footwear was high on the list. She said Centre Boot Company is glad to fill that void.
