Owner Anthony Castro helping customer try on shoes
Pink Shoe Bag held its grand opening Friday, giving customers a fresh experience of unique styles.
Customers were welcomed with the scent of fresh food, the sound of popular tunes by DJ Loosekid and a 20 percent off sale. The boutique opened its doors in July, but waited to have its grand opening as students flooded the city for fall semester.
Pink Shoe Bag is a shoe store that caters to women of all ages. It is one of few boutiques in Tallahassee that only carries shoes and ranges from flats, sandals, wedges, pumps and boots.
Owner, Anthony Castro, says that he wanted the name of the boutique to be very simple and memorable for people to think of his store every time they see a pink bag.
"I wanted to brand the store,” said Castro. “It's not just about the name because people can remember the name but the way I wanted to brand it was the name itself, a pink shoe bag, so every purchase comes with a pink shoe bag."
Castro worked at Nordstrom for five years and mostly worked with women, this inspired him to open a shoe store. His background is in retail, managing and customer service.
While setting the location and prices Castro kept students in mind.
"I'm not trying to break the students' pocket,” expressed Castro. “I want it to be something that's affordable. I want them to come back."
The store is "self-service" and customers don't have to have to ask for their size, because all of the shoes are neatly stacked under the display.
Jasmine Leslie, owner of Swolrz Cupcake and Art Studio admits that she shops at Pink Shoe Bag often. Leslie expressed that the atmosphere of the store displays is heartwarming.
"He's really changed the place around and it's a cool experience,” stated Leslie. “It's not just shopping for shoes. It's an all around experience."
Dwanquece Deal, a physical therapy graduate student from Miami, Fla., says she enjoys shopping at Pink Shoe Bag because it is unique and offers different styles and colors than the typical boutiques in Tallahassee.
"It's different. It's really really different,” said Deal. “I've been to several different shoe stores here in Tallahassee and it gives me what I want. I don't have to go out of town to look for what I want anymore. I can get it right here."
The store is located in the Gaines Street District at 439 W. Gaines St. For more information call 850-320-5801, or visit the website at Pinkshoebag.com