Beck’s Shoes Turns 100 and Plans for More Stores in California

Cousins Adam Beck and Julia Beck-Gomez have literally grown up in the footwear industry. Both got their start in the family business, Beck’s Shoes, before they were 10 years old.

“I was raised in the Santa Cruz Mountains in a pretty rural town [in Northern California], so any chance I had to go work with dad I jumped at. I just wanted to get out of the house,” joked Beck, who is now CEO for the 100-year-old chain, which specializes in industrial and family lifestyle footwear.

Beck-Gomez, meanwhile, who serves as COO, began by helping out with marketing: “We spent our summers putting all of the address labels on the mailers — we got a penny a label,” she recalled. “After a few summers, I started going to the office with my dad.”