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Brothers Nick and Tony Chiappetta are fourth generation store owners of Chiappetta Shoes in Kenosha. The duo had been looking for a new location for several years before acting this year to buy their new building currently being renovated for their move.

Tony Chiappetta looks up at the skylight of Chiappetta Shoes future location. Chiappetta plans to hang a shoelace chandelier, made by a local artist, at that spot.

Tony Chiappetta stands in front of Chiappetta Shoes future location,4820 75th St. After 23 years on 39th Avenue, Chiappetta said they had “maxed out” their current building.

After more than 20 years, two add-ons and three renovations, Chiappetta Shoes’ current store at 6821 39th Ave. has been “maxed out,” according to fourth generation owner Tony Chiappetta.

At 5,300 square feet, Chiappetta’s 39th Street location is filled floor-to-ceiling with boxes, displays and shoes. Workers squeeze past each other in the backrooms and even offices are used for additional storage.

“Business is good, the Kenosha community has been shopping,” Chiappetta said. “We’re not complaining about that, we just need more space.”

Chiappetta Shoes new location, 4820 75th St., which Chiappetta said they hope to move into by mid-December, certainly solves the space issue.

The new sales floor alone will be about 4,000 square feet. Behind the already existing building, construction has begun on an attached 3,000-square-foot warehouse, which he said they plan to make a two-tier storage space.

When all completed, he said their capacity will be about 70,000 pairs of shoes.

Offices, breakrooms and storage rooms are all still under construction, but Chiappetta was excited about what was to come.

The new location will be more “experiential” for customers, Chiappetta said. When customers enter the main showroom, they’ll be greeted by a giant shoelace chandelier created by local artist Brandon Minga, hanging below the room’s glass skylight.

Along the showroom’s far wall will be a large window into a workshop, where visitors can watch workers repair shoes. In addition, Chiappetta said they hope to stream repairs online.

Chiappetta said he and his brother, Nicholas, had been looking for a new location for years. They initially didn’t even consider the 75th Street location, which sits just down the road from the future location of the new Daily Dose Cafe.

But after the developer redid the outside and parking lot, Chiappetta said it suddenly all came together and they bought the building in February.

“It was a pretty quick turnover between offer and transaction,” Chiappetta said. “We got a good deal on the building.”

However, the new building hasn’t come without its hurdles. The almost universal problem of supply chain issues and rising material costs were in full force with the construction and furbishing of the building’s interior.

For example, Chiappetta pointed to the building’s windows. The cost of glass for the entire project was $7,000 in June, which he said jumped to $19,000 by August.

“That was one of the bigger jumps,” Chiappetta said. “But its construction, so there are things you just don’t expect.”

New locations don’t come without risks, even for a business now going on 101 years in Kenosha. However, Chiappetta is confident in the business’ future, saying he expects brick-and-mortar business to double.

Predictions aside, Chiappetta said that they had still been prudent with their purchase. Even if business stayed the same despite the larger location, they would still be financially stable.

Chiappetta Shoes has been in its current 39th Street location, which Chiappetta said they plan to sell at some point, since 1999. Despite those 23 years, Chiappetta wasn’t particularly sentimental. The building had been pushed to its physical limit and the business need more room to stretch its legs. And it’s far from the business’ first move.

In the century since great-grandfather Pasquale first founded Chiappetta Shoes, the Chiappetta family has run its shoe business in buildings across Kenosha, whether it was on 50th Street, 22nd Avenue or 39th Avenue. A new building is almost a family tradition.

“We’re ready for a new challenge,” Chiappetta said.

Record inflation severely impacted the food supply chain, fuel costs, and pricing for virtually all our everyday necessities.

But while food costs remain high overall, prices for some food have come down. Stacker used monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics data to find the 10 grocery items that experienced the largest price decreases from August to September, using year-over-year change in price as a tie-breaker.

Prices for fresh fruits decreased by 0.6% in August and saw steady decreases in previous months. Uncooked beef (with the exception of veal) also saw a slight decline in pricing partly due to a shift in consumer demand and the fact that some cattle ranchers are slaughtering their livestock early. This is due to recent droughts in areas such as Texas that affect where cattle graze.

Meanwhile, dairy products such as milk and eggs also saw reduced prices; with cheese readily available, there was reduced demand for the product.

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Brothers Nick and Tony Chiappetta are fourth generation store owners of Chiappetta Shoes in Kenosha. The duo had been looking for a new location for several years before acting this year to buy their new building currently being renovated for their move.

Tony Chiappetta looks up at the skylight of Chiappetta Shoes future location. Chiappetta plans to hang a shoelace chandelier, made by a local artist, at that spot.

Tony Chiappetta stands in front of Chiappetta Shoes future location,4820 75th St. After 23 years on 39th Avenue, Chiappetta said they had “maxed out” their current building.

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