THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 20, 1996 TAG: 9602200297
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Matthew Goldman, who has been decorating local residents' feet in fancy heels and fine-leather loafers for about a half century, is saying farewell to the shoe business.
Goldman, owner of Goldman's Salon Shoes in downtown Norfolk's Selden Arcade, has outlasted slumps in footwear sales, frightening recessions and drastic changes in the ways customers shop. He might have even survived the current retail shakeout.
Except this time, Goldman is tired. It is a tough confession from a die-hard merchant who for years has brushed aside questions about his retirement.
``If I were younger, I'd fight it,'' the 80-year-old merchant said. ``I've been through plenty of ups and downs. I've been through it all. . . . If business was going well and the economy was better, I don't think I'd close.''
Goldman plans to close his Norfolk store at February's end. The Virginia Beach store, owned by his niece, is not affected.
Growing up during the Depression years, Goldman and his brother, Jack, worked in the shoe section of the old Rice's department store on downtown Granby Street.
After World War II, the siblings used a G.I. loan to open an upscale shoe store on Freemason Street. Matthew Goldman recalls that residents, gussied up for their shopping sprees, would drive from across Hampton Roads to visit the area.
The brothers moved downtown to Granby Street in 1961, when ``things were good on Granby.''
Goldman's Salon Shoe thrived, establishing its reputation as a shop for customers who wanted to pamper themselves with the best shoes.
But when the area fell into disrepair, the brothers closed the Granby store and moved into Selden Arcade, which is across the street from the Norfolk Waterside Mariott and Waterside Convention Center.
``We did well in the '80s,'' Goldman said. ``In the last four or five years, with the economy, things have gotten tough. And of course, I've gotten old.''
Over the years, the brothers opened operations in Norfolk's Wards Corner area, Newport News, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach.
A Virginia Beach shoe store, in the Hilltop commercial area, is the only one that will remain after the Norfolk store closes. In 1994, Matthew and Jack Goldman sold their shares of the Hilltop store to Jack's daughter, Anne Goldman. She runs the store, called J. Goldman Shoe Salon of Virginia Beach, and her father still comes in several days a week.
``We'll be here to continue the tradition,'' Anne Goldman said.
In Norfolk, the display shelves at Goldman's Salon Shoes were quickly emptying on Monday. The gold sandals remained, as did a few black pumps. But the men's shoes disappeared in a flash as male shoppers jumped at the opportunity of a 50 percent discount.
Goldman's is the only area shoe retailer authorized to carry the Bally of Switzerland line of shoes. Its footwear selection also includes Yves St. Laurent, Anne Klein and Stuart Weitzman.
All of which Matthew Goldman adores to sell. He is known for charming his customers, ribbing his staff and growling at his suppliers. He has retail pumping through his veins.
``I've got it in me,'' he said. ``I'd rather be working.''
But at month's end, he will be saying goodbye to most of his customers, his longtime employees and his suppliers.
``I sure will miss him,'' said E. Dellis Lawrence, who has been shopping at Goldman's since 1948. ``He carries nice shoes. They're very expensive, but they last you a long time and stay in style.''
``He's like an institution around here,'' said Charlene Baumeister, who has worked at Goldman's for more than 35 years. ``It really is sad.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photos]
RICHARD L. DUNSTON
The Virginian-Pilot
Matthew Goldman
by CNB