Tootsies Shoes to open second store in Arlington Heights

A new boutique shoe store hopes to be easing the soles of women in downtown Arlington Heights starting this fall.

Tootsies Shoes, which has a store for women and children in Barrington, will open a shop aimed just at women at 40 S. Dunton Ave. next month, said owner Doug Pekarek.

"It's a nice new retail option in our downtown," said Michael Mertes, the village's business development coordinator. "We're excited to have them."

The store's spot in the Dunton Court shopping center was previously a Curves fitness center. Tootsies Shoes carries mostly smaller, boutique brands, but will stock well-known names such as TOMs, Ugg Australia, Birkenstock and Bearpaw as well.

Pekarek said the store's focus is on "trendy comfort" shoes that women can wear to work all day, but still be fashionable.

"It's not going to be shoes your grandma wore," he said. "It's all about things that look pretty and are also very comfortable, without being a gym shoe."

He said Tootsies also will carry evening shoes, but not athletic footwear. Prices for most shoes at Tootsies will be under $100, but some brands may be up to $150, he said. "Better quality shoes have a higher price," he said.

Pekarek, who lives in Algonquin, has been working in the shoe industry his entire career. He said he's looking forward to bringing a "full-service" experience to his new, 2,200-square-foot space in Arlington Heights.

Customers won't just be asked their shoe size and handed a box of shoes to try on themselves, he said. Instead, trained professionals will measure each customer's foot and put the shoes on them personally.

"It's rare now. You can buy a book online, but when you try to buy a shoe online it might not fit and then you have to buy two more pairs," he said. "The computer can't tell you that you have a flat foot and these shoes aren't going to work for you. We know how the shoes fit."

They also have machines to scan customers' feet and tell them what type of arch they need in their shoes, he said.

Pekarek has owned Tootsies Shoes in Barrington since 2003, but until three years ago it was only a children's shoe store.

"Our business has been growing by leaps and bounds since we added ladies' shoes," he said.

He said he chose Arlington Heights to reach what he called the "cosmopolitan" customers who may live in the suburbs, but work in Chicago. He's also looking forward to being a part of the downtown Arlington Heights retail scene.

"In Barrington we are in a very small mall building. In Arlington Heights our name will be visible from the street," he said. "It screams and shouts that we're there."