Marshall’s Shoes: An Accidental Institution

Marshall Perlman has been selling shoes in Carmel since 1964. He never intended to come, but once here, he decided never to leave. “I fell in love with the Lake, the people,” Marshall remembered.

Marshall’s shoes has been located in the Putnam Plaza since the foundations were set above the swamp, and before that, its predecessor, Marco’s, sat in a tight spot on Main Street.

Back in 1964, when he was offered a job at the store, the problem for Marshall was that he didn’t want to sell shoes, or commute over an hour from Bridgeport. “My father had asked me to meet with this man, but I didn’t want the job,” said Marshall, “so I figured the tactful thing was to ask more than the market was paying.”

“He accepted, so I was stuck,” said Marshall with a laugh.

For the first year, Marshall commuted from his home just outside Bridgeport all the way up to Carmel. “There was maybe one stop sign and one stoplight at the time,” said Marshall.

Marshall moved up to Carmel about a year after taking his first job at Marco’s. He helped re-establish the store at Putnam Plaza in the early 70s, and after nine years, he opened his own store in Baldwin Place. “Two years after we opened in Baldwin, we came back to Carmel and bought out Marco,” recalled Marshall.

Since then, Marshall said, the business has largely stayed the same, even as competition has gotten tougher. “We could have had that mall here, but it went to Danbury. The mall stores are the biggest discounters out there, but people still want service,” said Marshall, and that’s just what he gives them.

Marshall’s, which sells exclusively to women and children, keeps a small play area in the back with a rocking horse and simple games to occupy children. “If the children are busy, the mothers are more likely to stay and shop,” Marshall said. “It was the best thing we could have put in here.”

The business survives on Marshall’s great reputation for finding the right fit and being a good friend to the community. Marshall’s is widely recommended by podiatrists because of the time he takes with a customer. He even told this reporter that a firmer shoe was more appropriate for someone with a little heft in his step.

Marshall has three grown children spread throughout the region, and seven grandchildren. “They keep us in business, kids need shoes all the time, and here the price is right,” Marshall said.

Marshall said he’s enjoyed not only prosperity from the growth in Putnam County, but also watching people change as they move here from the Bronx or Westchester. “It takes the women two years to adjust, they say they don’t like it, but that it is a good place to raise kids, but after some time they get countrified like I did,” he said.

Marshall is not above enforcing a little old-fashioned discipline in his store. “This is my home, and people need to respect that,” he said. He’ll correct young children who attack his shoes with lollipops, for instance. “Most people respond well to it,” he said. “Others can find another place to shop.”

But most of his customers are a joy to him: “I love the people here; when I say I have wonderful customers, I mean that I have wonderful customers.”

What’s next for the old hand fitting young feet? “One day we’ll just decide to quit, and it will be the day before it happens. We’ll just sell or liquidate,” Marshall said. “Until then we’ll just enjoy it. I am the lucky one; there’s never been a day I haven’t looked forward to being here.”

All the more reason to head to Marshall’s today.