In York, there's a family store that's been part of the local landscape since 1877 -- and it's still going strong.
The location has changed a few times in its 135-year history, but the name on the sign and the business philosophy has not.
"I like talking to customers. I really like when they come in and I can help them with a foot problem or a shoe problem," said 62-year-old Bob Reineberg owner of Reineberg's "famous feet fitters."
He says the shop is not about just fitting and fixing shoes but about carrying on a family tradition.
"They always said my great-grandfather started the business on a shoe string, but he literally didn't have much," said Reineberg, who's a fourth generation shoe man.
When Edward Reineberg opened shop in downtown York in 1877, his dad and brother were his main competitors -- only a couple of doors away. But Edward Reineberg's business continued to grow, adding staff and inventory at their South George Street location.
Through the next two generations, Reineberg's remained a business mainstay in the city until moving to its current location in the Haines Acres Shopping Center in 1974. Thirty years ago Bob Reineberg added shoe repair to his business. A move that allowed a more personal touch for his customers.
"We're not doctors. So we don't try to be doctors," he said. "But we know, lots of time, what might help a person."
York native Donna Swankie remembers coming to Reineberg's as a kid. She's a third generation customer and now travels from Wilkes-Barre to shop there. She says it's like visiting family
"You come in here, right away, they're there. It's like 'Hi! How are you today?' ya know. That kind of thing," she said.
And in a business built on tradition, fashions of the past are much appreciated at Reineberg's. Their collection includes a pair of boots worn and repaired by a customer for his entire life. When he died, the boots, layered in leather and nails, weighed more than eight pounds each.
Now, that's customer loyalty.
