About TKM Shoes

A Family Story Since 1996

When Christos came to New York from Greece, he came looking for the same thing so many families have come to America in search of: an opportunity to build a better life.

He started a family, put down roots in New York, and in 1996 took a chance on a dream of his own—opening a small neighborhood shoe store.

There was no grand plan to build a large company. It was simply a family working hard, serving its community, and trying to build something that could last.

 

Over the years, that little shoe business grew alongside our family.

As his sons, Vasilis and Alex, got older, the stores became part of our lives too. We started working in the business while we were still in high school—learning everything from helping customers and organizing stock to understanding the shoes and the people who came through our doors.

What began as our father's dream gradually became something we shared.

Today, nearly 30 years later, we're fortunate to still be doing it together. Our mom has recently become part of the business as well, making TKM Shoes more of a family operation than it has ever been.

 

We're proud of how far our father's original store has come, but we're even more grateful for the customers and communities that allowed it to happen.

Today, our family operates stores in Bay Ridge, Forest Hills, and Astoria, along with TKMshoes.com, bringing the same business we grew up with to customers beyond our New York neighborhoods.

Our Approach to Footwear

After nearly three decades in the shoe business, we've learned that a good shoe store doesn't need to carry everything. It needs to choose well.

We carefully select our collection with an eye toward style, comfort, quality, and value. Our assortment ranges from everyday and comfort footwear to fashion-forward and special-occasion styles, including brands such as EXE and Bonavi, along with an evolving selection of European and international footwear.

We're always learning, and our selection continues to change with our customers. Many of the decisions we make about what to carry come from something very simple: years of listening to people in our stores tell us what they like, what fits, and what they're looking for.

From Our Stores to Your Door

TKMshoes.com is simply another chapter of the business our family started in 1996.

Our online store connects the inventory across our New York locations and allows us to share our selection with customers well beyond our neighborhoods.

Behind the website is the same family and team that works in our stores. Whether you're asking us about sizing, looking for a particular style, or waiting for an order to arrive, we want the experience to feel personal—even when you're shopping with us from hundreds of miles away.

Still a Family Business

A great deal has changed since our father opened his first store in 1996. The way people shop has changed, the shoes have changed, and our business has grown with them.

But we're still learning from the business he started.

We're still a family working together. We're still choosing shoes we believe our customers will enjoy. And we're still incredibly appreciative every time someone chooses to shop with us.

Whether you've been visiting our stores for years or have only just discovered us online, thank you for supporting our family business and for being a small part of its story.