Our Story

The Barn Shoes

Family-Owned and Family-Operated

The Barn Family Shoe Store has been a family-owned and operated business for over seven decades, Joe serves as President, Cindy, Controller, and their son, Brendan, who is a Store Manager. Daniel Swenson, a thirty-year veteran in the shoe industry, is the General Manager. Joe joined The Barn in 1991, where he had been the General Manager for nearly 20 years.

A TEAM OF SEASONED FOOTWEAR PROFESSIONALS

The Barn Family Shoe Store team is trained and highly knowledgeable in finding the best fit for your needs. This goes beyond simply measuring your feet. Our team will listen to your needs and match you with the correct fit.

NEWTON’S FAMILY SHOE STORE SINCE 1948

Russell Wennberg, founded The Barn in 1948, where he began selling overstock sneakers from the trunk of his car in the parking lot where the original Barn building stood on Kempton Place in West Newton.

People came from all over Newton and the surrounding towns to buy these quality sneakers at affordable prices.

 Eventually, Russell had to open a store to accommodate his growing clientele, so when the building at 25 Kempton Place became available, Russell jumped at the opportunity. And the rest, as they say, is history. After his passing, Russell’s wife, Lillian, took leadership of The Barn. When Lillian retired, daughter Karen Stives, a one-time equestrian Olympian in the 1984 Olympics, held the reigns at the store for over 25 years.

We have since relocated to a beautiful new store about a mile up the road at 229 Walnut Street in Newtonville. Customers have remarked at the bright new space with kids, men’s, and women’s shoes all under one roof accompanied by plenty of free parking.

Russell Wennberg

SHOES AND SNEAKERS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

The Kids Barn was established in 1995, where the entire store is dedicated to children’s footwear and sportswear.

The Kids Barn soon won Boston Magazine’s prestigious Best of Boston- Best Children’s Shoe Store Award. Along with The Barn, The Kids Barn has been repeatedly awarded the Wicked Local Media’s #1 Readers’ Choice Award and The Boston Parents Paper Best Children’s Shoe Store Award. Together, The Barn and The Kids Barn used to occupy 30,000 square feet in two adjacent buildings on 25 Kempton Place in West Newton, Massachusetts. The buildings were sold in 2020, and we are thrilled to be in our vibrant new store about a mile east up the road at 229 Walnut Street in Newtonville. The store offers a complete line of footwear for men, women, and children and also features casual apparel and accessories for the entire family.

Serving a New Generation of Loyal Customers

The Barn Family Shoe Store attracts generations of loyal customers and has garnered perennial awards as the #1 shoe store in the region. The Barn, as it has become affectionately known from its modest beginnings, became the store where generations of families would shop together- a place where, “I remember that when I was a kid, my mother always took me to The Barn to shop for shoes,” is regularly heard from customers today.

The Barn Family Shoe Store’s mission is to uphold the gold standard of excellence and family legacy by continuing to serve families with all their footwear needs in the years ahead. We welcome you to join our email list to be in the know about all our special promotions and events.  We uphold your privacy and do not share your information with third parties.