As of: March 6, 2024, 2:25 p.m
By: Laura Forster
Comments
Press
Split
A well-rehearsed team: Christa Roos (l.) with daughter Anna Reif, who recently took over the Roos shoe store on Bürgerplatz in Garching.
© Gerald Förtsch
In our series we visit the oldest shops in the Munich district.
Today we stop by the Roos shoe store in Garching, which has been around since 1962.
Garching - winter boots, pumps and various children's shoes: hundreds of pairs stand on shelves and wait for the right foot.
If you are looking for high-quality shoes in Garching and the surrounding area and value personal advice, go to Schuhhaus Roos.
The shop on Bürgerplatz is known beyond the city limits and is known to many.
Generations shop here.
“I have school friends who come to us regularly with their parents and children,” says Anna Reif (36), who will now continue the family business.
“Are shoes with black soles allowed on the hall floor?” asks a customer and shows Christa Roos, Anna Reif’s mother, a pair of sports shoes.
“Wait, I’ll call the manufacturer straight away,” says the 71-year-old, holding the smartphone to her ear.
Although she has handed over management of the business to her daughter, she is still regularly on site and advises customers, as she emphasizes.
Because one thing is certain: at Schuhhaus Roos, customer service and customer wishes are very important - and have been for decades.
As a child at the fair
The shoe store was founded by Adalbert Girstl, Christa Roos' father, in 1962. The trained master shoemaker first converted a room on the ground floor of the house at Auweg 38 into a shop.
A few years later, he and his wife Anna expanded the sales area.
“I still remember how my father always took me with him to trade fairs.
As a ten-year-old, I was allowed to choose the children's shoes.
That was great,” remembers Christa Roos.
In 1969 she began training at Salamander in Schwabing.
After completing her apprenticeship, she supported her father in the business, which she took over in 1979.
“At this time the community center and today's town center were built.
The Auweg was far away, so I applied for a store in the middle of the action.” And got it.
The first shop on Auweg in 1983. Adalbert Girstl (l.), Anna Girstl (r.) and Christa Roos (2nd from right) with guests from the twin town of Lørenskog.
© Repro: Gerald Förtsch
In 1983, the Schuhhaus moved to the house at Bürgerplatz 7, where Bücher Sirius is now located.
Christa Roos sold shoes in these premises for 23 years and made many customers happy.
In 2006 she was faced with the decision to give up the business or buy the store at Bürgerplatz 12, where the shoe store is today.
“My daughter encouraged me to keep going,” says Roos.
“She grew up with it.
It’s a kind of life’s work for her and shoes are simply close to my mother’s heart,” says Anna Reif.
It's not just Reif and the four employees who are happy that Christa Roos has continued - the customers are too.
“We have many regular customers who come from Garching, Unterschleißheim, Dietersheim and even Munich,” says Roos.
Repair service
The offer differs from that of large chains.
“If you want, you can take home a selection of shoes for your partner.
Trust is important to us,” says Reif.
The shop also offers shoe repairs.
“We don’t do this ourselves, we have a repairman do it, but within a week the shoe is straightened and ready to be picked up,” says Roos.
A service that is being used more and more since money is no longer so loose.
My news
1 hour ago
Thieves steal grave decorations: Police catch suspects - “Relatives are stunned” read
Strong beer tapping without a knight - speech by Christian Springer in Taufkirchen with mixed success
Driver in BMW SUV rams through blocked intersection - 20,000 euros in damage and accident escape reading
2 hours ago
Unknown man steals from seniors with change trick - police are investigating and looking for witnesses
Cannabis in Aschheim: shop owner deeply relaxed, despite resistance from the community
Things are going downhill: Unterhaching in financial decline reading
The founder of the shoe store and Christa Roos' father, Adalbert Girstl, at a trade show in Garching in the 80s.
© Repro: Gerald Förtsch
As a teenager, she would never have thought that the now 36-year-old would take over the store.
“I graduated from high school, studied and had three children,” says Anna Reif.
At some point she realized how much she enjoyed working in her mother's shoe shop and did a distance learning course at the German Shoe Institute.
“My mother has already taught me a lot, but this is something official.” Christa Roos is proud that her daughter is now continuing to run the business.
“It is important that the local shops are preserved.
“But we also need the support of the citizens,” says the senior citizen.
About the series:
In the series “The oldest shops in my town” we present long-established shops in the Munich district in no particular order.
Further news from Garching and the Munich district can be found here.