T-R PHOTO BY MIKE DONAHEY
Tyler Peters, managing owner of Brown’s Shoe Fit Co. in Marshalltown, sees potential in Main Street and has worked hard to bounce back from the 2018 tornado.

Tyler Peters, 25, managing owner of the Browns Shoe Fit store on Main Street, viewed Marshalltown as a solid business opportunity before the 2018 tornado.

Now, 17 months after the seminal event, Peters remains optimistic about Marshalltown and the Central Business District as well.

He has several reasons to be.

While other businesses have come and gone, Brown’s Shoe Fit has been a rock-solid fixture on East Main Street for 15 years

He and staff have been in the trenches every business day since his arrival in June 2018.

They have been waiting on customers and making sales in the store which he said offers a little bit of everything, from athletic to dress to work shoes.

There is local competition from other shoe stores, a department store and the internet.

“Competition is great,” the former high school and college football player said.

Peters is on the Central Business District board of directors, an organization actively involved to improve downtown.

“We have been working to figure out new ways to combat some of the issues facing downtown post-tornado,” he said. “We want to make downtown a growing, vibrant place it once was. That means bringing in more retail, housing — all downtown. And making changes that accommodate downtown business owners.”

Improving parking is one, and the local businessman said many of his customers tell him they have to circle the block two or three times before a parking place becomes available.

“I know the new Downtown Master Plan addressed parking and we will continue to work with the city and others,” he said. “I know it will take time.”

Peters is a graduate of Central College, which is in Pella. He can sympathize with other Marshalltown Main Street businesses and residents whose properties suffered damage from the tornado.

The building he rents — across the street from the Marshall County Courthouse — suffered damage to the roof and elsewhere.

“The owner, a local man, was ‘Johnny-on-the-spot’ he said. “He acted quickly. We were one of the first to get a new roof.”

Like many of his Main Street business comrades, he too was concerned if customers would return.

They did.

“Our customers have been loyal, and we are grateful they stuck with us during the days, weeks and months following the tornado,” he said.

A Parkersburg native, he helped that community rebuild after a tornado more powerful and lethal than the one that hit Marshalltown ripped through the town in 2008. The Parkersburg tornado turned the south side of the town into rubble and seven people were killed.

“My dad is a carpenter,” he said. “I was 14, and I worked with him. He taught me many skills, and I witnessed first-hand my home town’s rebuilding process.”

A growing company

Not only is Peters optimistic about Marshalltown’s future, he is thrilled to be working for Brown’s Shoe Fit Co.

Founded in 1911 by Winn Brown, the Shenandoah-based company has been extremely successful in a highly competitive business.

“The company is growing,” Peters said.

He cited the personal attention staff give to customers in helping them finding the best fit which makes Brown’s Shoe Fit Co. stand out.

“One thing Internet sales can not do, that we pride ourselves on, is that we are a ‘true-fit’ shoe store. When customers come in, we measure their feet, we diagnose problems they might have. We look at how people walk. There are different kinds of gaits for example. We analyze that. We help them pick the right shoe. It is not just about having a cool, fashionable shoe, we want our customers to get the best fit possible.”

As managing owner, Peters makes day-to-day decisions which he thinks is best for the store.

“Brown’s Shoe Fit Co. does not dictate a ‘cookie-cutter’ approach,” he said. “They understand each store is different and serves different markets. For example, our inventory is going to be different than a Brown’s Shoe Fit in Grinnell or Pella.”

It was in Pella where Peters entered the shoe business and was hired by Brown’s Shoe Fit. Co. He was an assistant manager with the company at its Fort Dodge store before coming to Marshalltown.

“I would love to talk to anyone about the outstanding business opportunities working for Brown’s Shoe Fit Co.,” he said.

Peters is not all business. He said he enjoys family time with spouse Olivia 22, and son Jackson 3, and daughter Oaklynn, 21 months. Olivia is expecting another child in June.