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Spotlight: Karavel Shoes

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Veteran footwear retailer stocking a wide range of comfort shoe brands for men & women since 1960.

5525 Burnet Rd, Austin, TX 78756

(512) 459-7603

Karavel Shoes – If these shoes could talk

Local Business Spotlight: Karavel Shoes

A room filled with tables and chairs in front of windows.Karavel Shoes was founded as the second Buster Brown shoe store in the United States by two close friends, Irving Ravel and Bob Karotkin, on March 7, 1937. The name was changed to Kara-Vel shoes the next year and was originally located between the state and Paramount theatres in downtown Austin on Congress Ave. The store began as a children’s shoe store but was later expanded into men’s, women’s, and orthopedic shoes. We moved to our current location at 5525 Burnet Rd. in north central Austin in 1960 and have been there ever since. In 1985 we started carrying Euro-comfort shoes and focused our business on “comfort and service,†although unbeatable, old fashioned service has always been our top priority.

We specialize in the most fashionable comfort shoes, sandals and more for women and men, and have something for almost every occasion and need. In 1995, we added a Wellness center, and by 2000, we added our first concept store with the addition of the Mephisto Shop. We added the New Balance shop in 2003 and the ECCO store in 2005. The Karavel Outlet Store has been open the past couple of years and specializes in overstocked shoes and marked-down merchandise that was once in our other stores. And in 2011, we opened our Karavel Shoes (Round Rock) store.

We take pride in being one of the oldest retail stores in the city and are known for carrying the widest selection of shoe styles, in different sizes and widths. We are extremely proud of our history and family’s contribution to Austin’s growth, and though we are an Austin institution, we don’t rest on our laurels and continue to give the customer the service they would have received as if they showed up at our doors in 1937.