Sole Desire steps into Napa
Shoes on First has undergone a little shoe “shining” and is open under a new name.
Napa’s First Street shoe store is now Sole Desire, part of a Bay Area regional chain, which will allow it to offer a larger selection, owner Phil Aved said.
It gives us greater reach, greater advertising all the advantages of a chain store with the charm of a local business, he said.
Aved has owned the original store for the past 14 years.
He has been friends with the Santa Rosa-based Astobiza family, which owns Sole Desire, for 40 years and works as a paid consultant for the family’s corporation.
Bringing his store under the Sole Desire name was a logistical next step, he said. It gives him greater buying power and distribution opportunities for the brands the store carries.
Aved remains the owner of the store, while Sole Desire acts as the management operator, he said.
It is now one of 15 branches around the Bay Area, including stores in Los Gatos, Sonoma, San Rafael and Davis.