Rushing Shoe Shop owner Donnie Rushing realized just how much his business has kept up with changing styles when he realized this: “It’s official — I have more lady’s boots than I do men’s cowboy boots.”
“I didn’t think that would ever happen,” he said.
The Rushing family, in the shoe business since the 1940s, says boots are their bread and butter.
Donnie Rushing and his brother Daniel co-own Rushing Shoe Shop at 407 W. Presley Blvd. in McComb.
“Boots is what we’ve done my whole life,” Donnie said. “Work boots are always our bread and butter.”
Customers stand to benefit from the small-town service that comes from a shop like Rushing’s.
“A great benefit of buying locally is you are in my computer,” Donnie said, noting access to information on customers’ past purchases.
Service like that isn’t available in a big retailer, he said.
Rushing’s Shoe Shop — a small bright red building on Presley Boulevard — has fared pretty well through the tough economic times.
“People (have) got to have work boots,” Donnie said — especially with increased oil activity in southwest Mississippi.
Rushing said he sells steel-toed Red Wing work boots at his store — a rarity for this area.
He even has factory-damaged Red Wings, which may have scuffs or scratches, on sale for half price.
“Anytime you can buy a Red Wing at half price, you are getting a good deal,” Donnie said.
Work boots, though, aren’t the only thing that Rushing’s offers.
The store also has Birkenstock wool shoes new this holiday season, he said.
He said he has everything from belts, buckles, wallets, Carhartt clothing and cowboy boots, to hunting boots, rubber boots and many other stocking-stuffer items.
“I always try to keep my boots as cheap as I can,” he said. “I don’t do a lot of gimmicky stuff.”
When customers buy from Rushing, he will make minor repairs to the shoes for free, he said.
“Shoe repair isn’t something you can make a living doing, but it helps in a store like this one,” Donnie said.
He knows without the generations of people who have always bought from Rushing’s, the store would not be a success.
Rushing’s Shoe Shop is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, but Donnie said he tries to stay open a little later on Saturday during the holiday season.
