BirkenstockBeach.com Location and History

Our downtown store is located in the Mission Mall in downtown San Luis Obispo, CA, across the creek from Mission San Luis Obispo. San Luis Obispo is simply known to the locals as "SLO" and is located in central California, almost exactly between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the 101 freeway. It's primarily a college town, home to California Polytechnic State University. The beach is about a 5-10 minute drive away, through some very scenic valleys. The wine country is a very big industry here on the central coast. Wineries such as Castoro Cellars and its "dam fine wine" (1-888-DAM-FINE) produce some of the best wine that California has to offer.

Local residents spend most of their time getting involved with outdoor activities since the weather is nice all year round. One very popular activity is our very ownFarmers Market, which takes place in downtown SLO every Thursday night from around 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.. The Downtown Association (805-541-0286) does a fantastic job of organizing the market, and keeping everyone busy with wonderful activities such as the "Mozart Festival" and "Concerts In The Plaza". As for the surf on the central coast ... let's just say it keeps us all stoked!

Shortly after moving to San Luis Obispo, Roxanne was shopping in the "Creamery" mall with her two sons Mark and Kevin, ages 10 and 8 respectively. Concerned with the well-being of her family, she purchased them all a pair of funny-looking leather sandals called Birkenstocks. Her husband, John, also got a pair and was very impressed with the product. Roxanne decided that she needed to have the whole store (you know how women are with collecting shoes), so they bought the whole thing.

Today the Zunich family still owns what is now Roxanne's Birkenstock, with two locations: one in San Luis Obispo, and one in Fresno, CA. Roxanne is still satisfying her shoe fancy and now owns over a few hundred pairs and growing! Susanna Money-Doster, Roxanne's sister, owns the Reno, NV Birkenstock store. After working for Roxanne in the Fresno store, Susanna moved to Reno & opened a specialty store there.

All Birkenstocks are made in Germany by the Birkenstock family. There are currently about 15 factories in Europe. Some are scattered throughout the contintent, but most are in Germany. We would to extend a big thanks to the Birkenstock family for making such "good for the body" footwear. Getting around without our Birkenstocks would not give us as wonderful of a quality of life as I've had since I was eight years old. Also, a big thanks to Margot Fraser for making them accessible in the United States.

The Birkenstock family has been in the footwear business for over 225 years--that's over two centuries of creating and perfecting a tradition of walking comfort. Together, we and the Birkenstock Authorized Retailers are proud to be a part of that tradition. To experience our custom comfort, visit your local Birkenstock footwear retailer for the best selectionm fitting, and service of our products.

Birkenstock products are hand-crafted with premium-quality materials and our footwear includes something for every walk of life. We offer sandals, clogs, and shoes in over 400 different colors, styles, and textures. Look through our catalog and see how Birkenstock has changed since 1964. Still comfortable and long lasting, Birkenstock is fashion for every situation.