Roderer Shoe Center is a family-owned shoe store in Kettering (Dayton), Ohio, founded in 1906 by George Roderer Sr. Five generations later, our pedorthically trained staff still fit every customer by hand.
We turn 120 this October! Come celebrate with us October 9–18. See the celebration →
01Our story
George Roderer Sr. grew up in the foothills of the Alps in Germany, learned to make shoes, and brought that trade to Dayton. He started selling shoes here in 1906, and his family has been doing it ever since. Five generations later, we're still locally owned and still run by Roderers. When you shop with us, you're buying from a family that has been fitting Dayton's feet for 120 years.
02Our mission
You can buy shoes anywhere. What you get here is someone who knows how to fit them. Our staff are pedorthically trained, and we fit narrow feet, wide feet and everything in between. Some people come in with foot pain, some want help with their gait, and some just want a comfortable pair they can wear every day. We help with all of it. We'll even measure you if you swear you've been a size 9 since high school.
03What we believe
Your feet carry you around all day. The least we can do is find them something comfortable. So we start with your feet and how you spend your day, then find shoes that work for both. That goes for walking, running and work shoes, and for kids getting their very first pair.
04How we work
We do things the old way. You sit down, we measure your feet, and we bring out shoes that fit. We don't rush it, and we won't send you wandering the aisles looking for your size. The brands on our wall are ones we've trusted for years, like New Balance, Hoka, Stride Rite and Birkenstock.
05The family
Today Chris and Emily Roderer run the store. They're the fifth generation, and they're just as particular about fit as George was. Maybe more. We're proud of what our family has built in Dayton, and we plan to keep fitting this town for a long time.
We Fit Your Lifestyle.
A family, a craft and a community, one step at a time. Pick an era, then open any milestone to read its full story.
Follow the footprints. The shoes change with the times.
1906
In styleButton boots & high-top oxfords
George Roderer Sr. came to Dayton from the foothills of the German Alps. He knew how to make shoes, and he thought every customer should leave with a pair that fit. He started the business from the family home on Xenia Ave., and people kept coming back.
1910s
In styleCongress gaiters & lace-up work boots
Most shoes were still made by hand back then, and sizes weren't standard yet. A pair that fit was hard to find. Roderer got known for it, and families started crossing town to get fitted.
1920s
In styleT-strap heels & spectator oxfords
Factory-made shoes got cheaper and easier to find, and small shops felt it. Roderer kept doing what it did best. You could buy shoes anywhere, but you came here to get them fitted. That kept people coming through the boom years and the hard ones after.
1930s
In styleSturdy brogues & Mary Jane school shoes
During the Depression, nobody could afford shoes that fell apart or hurt. A pair that fit and lasted was worth the trip. People trusted Roderer to get it right the first time.
1940s
In styleWedge sandals & platform shoes emerge
Leather was rationed during the war, and shoe styles changed to use less of it. Roderer worked around the shortages to keep customers in shoes that fit. By then George's children were running Roderer stores of their own around Dayton.
1950s
In styleSaddle shoes, penny loafers & pointed pumps
After the war, families moved out to the suburbs and Kettering grew fast. Roderer moved with them. It was where you took the kids for school shoes, where mom bought her church heels and where dad got his work boots resoled.
1960s
In styleGo-go boots, Earth shoes & platforms
Hemlines went up, heels changed and new styles showed up every season. Roderer carried what people wanted to wear and still made sure it fit. Yes, even the platforms.
1970s
In styleNew Balance & early Nike running shoes
When the running boom hit, people started caring how their sneakers fit. Roderer brought in running brands and trained staff to fit runners. A lot of how we fit people today started here.
1980s
In styleAerobics shoes & wide-width walking shoes
National chains opened all over Dayton. Instead of trying to carry everything, Roderer stuck with what the chains couldn't do well: hard-to-find widths, orthopedic know-how and a real sit-down fitting.
1990s
In styleOrthopedic classics & Birkenstocks arrive
More customers came to us with serious foot problems. We carried AFO-friendly styles, shoes that work with orthotics, and wide and extra-wide widths the chains didn't stock. Our staff took pedorthic training, and word spread to local doctors as well as customers.
2000s
In styleHoka & Brooks usher in the comfort revolution
Online stores were changing how people bought shoes. Roderer put even more into the part the internet can't do, which is measuring feet and fitting them by hand. Around this time Chris and Emily Roderer, the fifth generation, started taking over the store.
2010s
In styleAthleisure, wide-fit runners & therapeutic sandals
Chris and Emily wanted to keep what George started and build on it. New Balance, Hoka, Birkenstock and Stride Rite filled the walls, and every customer still got a sit-down fitting.
2020s
In styleMax-cushion shoes & functional first walkers
We launched a full online store so people could shop with us from home and get the same help they get in person. It worked. Net sales grew 79% in a year, and our online conversion rate more than doubled.
2026
Here's to the next 120 years!
Roderer Shoe Center turns 120 in 2026. The store George started has made it through wars, recessions, changing styles and the internet, and his family still runs it. We're still measuring feet, and we still think the shoe is only as good as the fit. Here's to the next 120.
George Sr. taught the trade to his children, and they carried it across Dayton, from Xenia Ave. to West Third St., North Main St. and beyond.
Founder. A trained shoemaker who started the business from the family home on Xenia Ave. in 1906.
George’s wife and mother of their nine children.
Carried the business into the next generation with three stores: West Third St., Spinning & Kemp, and Belmont on Watervliet. His sons Robert and Arthur ran West Third St. and Spinning & Kemp.
Ran the Xenia Ave. store with Victor and Lawrence, and became a chiropodist, the forerunner of today’s podiatrist.
Took over the Xenia Ave. store, the family home where it all began.
Took over the Xenia Ave. store with his brothers.
Started the store on North Main St., plus stores in Middletown, Xenia and Cincinnati under other names. Father of Tom Roderer.
Worked for her nephew Robert Roderer, Anthony’s son.
Worked at Rike’s, the Dayton department store.
Her son, Norman Vocke, became a podiatrist.
The one child who stayed out of the shoe business. Every family needs one.
Since 1906. George Roderer Sr. founded the business in Dayton, Ohio, and five generations of the Roderer family have run it since. Roderer Shoe Center celebrates its 120th anniversary in 2026.
We're at 316 E. Stroop Rd., Kettering (Dayton), OH 45429, in the Town & Country shopping center next to Trader Joe’s. We're open Monday through Saturday 10–7 and Sunday 12–5. Call us at (937) 298-1801.
Chris and Emily Roderer, the fifth generation of the Roderer family, own and run the store today.
Yes. We stock narrow to extra-wide widths and half sizes, and our staff measure your feet to find the right size and width.
You sit down, our pedorthically trained staff measure your feet, and we bring out the pairs that fit. No digging through boxes, no guessing. It's how we've fit customers since 1906.
Yes. Our pedorthically trained staff help customers with foot pain, gait questions and orthotics, and we carry orthotic-friendly and therapeutic styles.
We carry New Balance, Hoka, Brooks, Birkenstock and Stride Rite, among others. We also have walking, running and work shoes, and first walkers for kids.
Yes. You can shop online at roderershoecenter.com, or visit the store in Kettering for a fitting.
Sit down, take your shoes off and let our pedorthically trained staff measure your feet. We'll bring out the pairs that fit, in the size and width you need. Your only job is to sit there.
Five generations. One belief. Since 1906.