The Good Feet Store is planning to open a new location at 12743 Stone Village Way in Midlothian. (Jack Jacobs photos)
A chain of orthotics stores is looking south of the river to expand its regional presence.
The Good Feet Store is planning to open a new location at 12743 Stone Village Way in Midlothian this summer.
The store will occupy a 1,600-square-foot storefront that’s part of a relatively new retail strip at the Wegmans-anchored Stonehenge Village Shopping Center, according to permits filed recently with Chesterfield County. Other tenants in the same strip include eateries Chopt and Five Guys.
Good Feet sells arch supports intended to lessen customers’ body pain. The company manufactures its own inserts at a California plant and sells them through its retail locations.
The upcoming Good Feet outpost in Chesterfield would be the company’s second location in the region, adding to its first local store at 12276 W. Broad St. in the Short Pump area of Henrico. The new store will be operated by the same franchisee as the Short Pump location, Richmond-based Easy Step Enterprises.
The Midlothian store is slated to open in July. The build-out of the new location has cost about $350,000, according to the local franchise group.
The CEO and majority owner of the local franchise, Jonathan Cotten, said the new location will allow the company to reach what he called untapped market across the James River.
“We all know the dynamics of the river separating one side from the other. There’s going to be some people you’re not going to be able to reach,” Cotten said.
Jonathan Cotten
Easy Step operates more than 30 locations in Virginia, D.C., Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Alabama.
Cotten came to own the business after his experience as a Good Feet customer when seeking relief from plantar fasciitis. He had such a great experience that he ended up buying the franchise.
“I came in as a customer. I got the arch supports. I ran my first marathon after getting them and I came back in the next year and told the owner, ‘I’ve never had a product transform my life.’ She literally turned around and looked at me and said, ‘Do you want to buy the place?’ And so I did,” Cotten said. “This is almost like coming full circle back home to really more fully serve the Richmond area.”
Cotten co-owns the local Good Feet franchise with sons Jarrin (COO), Jennings (vice president of marketing and development) and Jentry. John Worden, a former local Chick-fil-A franchisee, is also an equity owner in the group.
The Good Feet Store is preparing to open in a relatively new retail strip at the Stonehenge Village Shopping Center.
Last year Stonehenge Village changed hands for $53 million as part of a larger transaction of several local shopping centers sold by Rosenthal Properties to an entity tied to New York City-based private equity firm H.I.G. Realty Partners. Rosenthal Properties remained a part-owner in the joint venture that acquired Stonehenge Village and other centers. Other tenants in Stonehenge Village include Buff City Soap, Mission BBQ and Party City.
Good Feet headquarters is in San Diego, California. The company was founded in 1992 and has more than 250 locations across the United States and internationally. The company said in an October news release it intends to have more than 300 stores by the end of 2024.