Walker Shoes’ expansion will make it one of the largest shoe stores in North Carolina

ASHEBORO — Walker Shoes and Apparel is growing by leaps and bounds. 

The retailer at 839 E. Dixie Drive in Hammer Village will increase its floor space from 18,000 to approximately 58,000 square feet. The growth will come from expanding its footprint into the former Badcock & More Home Furniture store next door. 

Greg Shaw, manager of Walker Shoes, said the expansion will include “cutting a hole in the wall” that separates the two stores. He hopes to be fully moved in by Oct. 1.

“It’s going to be big, one of the biggest shoe stores in North Carolina,” Shaw said, adding that they’ll be expanding the product line, both shoes and apparel. 

“We’re looking at different brands people have been asking for, but we don’t know yet” which new brands will be added, he said.

Walker Shoes and Apparel is owned by Greenville, NC-based 264 Shoes. The company also has stores in Goldsboro and New Bern and, according to Shaw, is looking at other cities to open new stores.

With the Asheboro expansion, he said, “There’ll be more room to shop. We hope to increase sales, especially with what people want.”

With a much larger store, Shaw said they will need more employees. Currently, Walker employs about 10 workers and that could increase by that many more. But that decision has yet to be made.

Asked why Walker and the Shoe Department at Asheboro Mall — which also expanded into a neighboring store, last year in July, 2024 — have or are undergoing expansion, Shaw simply said, “People gotta have shoes.”

But then he noted that “this area’s growing like crazy.”

Walker Shoes moved to its current location in Hammer Village in March 2022. Previously, it had been in the former B.B. Walker shoe manufacturing building, which has since been demolished.

Hammer Village was developed by Leo Hammer and, according to Randolph County GIS, the buildings were constructed in 1965. Among the first tenants were Winn-Dixie and King’s Department Store.

More recently, Fred’s, Save-A-Lot and Badcock & More have occupied the two buildings. The two structures are flanked by AutoZone and Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

Walker Shoes and Apparel is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 6 p.m.