VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — "My great-grandfather was a shoemaker, and he came over on a sailing ship in the late 1800s," said Lucian Montagna, Jr, owner of Montagna's shoe store.
His great-grandfather emigrated from Sicily to New York and settled in Norfolk.
"Frank was my grandfather. In 1922 he opened Montagna's Shoes on Granby Street in Norfolk," said Montagna, Jr. proudly.
Back then there was no fancy name for someone who custom-made shoes. By the time Lucian Montagna Jr. was an adult, his father sent him to school to become a pedorthist.
"I learned how to make arch supports, how to do all kinds of fittings and I began an internship learning how to treat people with a variety of foot ailments," said Montgna, Jr.
Montagna is a certified pedorthist, someone who manufactures, fits and modifies orthotics and shoes.
I first heard about the specialty when I interviewed Montagna's son, Lucian Montagna III, while covering January's big snowstorm. A pedorthist? I had to know more.
It turns out that if you have foot issues, like Norfolk resident Dustan Butler, it helps to see a pedorthist.
"My right foot kind of turns out, and I injured my right leg; it's shorter than my left leg," explained Butler.
He stands on his feet all day, so he says the right shoes make all the difference.
"This is very comfortable. I like it. My knees don't hurt," said Butler with a grin.
"If your shoes don't feel good, the rest of you don't feel good," Montagna, III said.
The two told me keeping their store open for 104 years hasn't always been easy.
"We've seen it all. We saw the Great Depression. We saw COVID-19. We saw 9/11. We saw it all, and we're still here," said Montagna, Jr.
Still here and helping their neighbors walk comfortably through their day, Montagna's Shoe Store is "Positively Hampton Roads."
