Name of business: Boucher’s Shoes

Type of business: Shoe store

Location: 2505 Geer Rd., in the Geer Gardens shopping center

Hours of operation: 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Saturday; closed on Sundays

Contact info: 632-1216

History of business: Becoming a shoe salesman wasn’t initially in Ken Boucher’s master plan. But, coming off the farm, he took a summer job as a stock boy at a local shoe store in 1953.

Boucher fell in love with the industry and, in 1967, opened the doors of Boucher’s Shoes in downtown Turlock. The business was a hit, thanks to Boucher’s knowledge of shoes and his decision to stock shoes which fit the local clientele’s desires, from brands like Red Wing Shoes, Clarks, and Birkenstock.

In 1989, Boucher’s Shoes moved to Geer Gardens, where the business has prospered ever since.

Business specialty: Boucher will mark 50 years spent in the shoe business next year. His wife, Ernie Boucher, will mark 46 years.

That lifetime of experience means that the Bouchers don’t just understand service and customers’ needs – they understand feet.

“I had someone today ask me, ‘Are you a doctor?’” laughed Ernie Boucher.

From flat feet to high arches and bunions, the Bouchers have seen it all. And they know how to recommend the perfect shoes, meeting every customer’s needs.