ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – For more than five decades, Footwear Unlimited has called Fenton home. The company sells and ships millions of pairs of footwear each year.

President and CEO of the family-owned business, Pat Mooney, says the company received an unexpected thanks to a TikTok video.

“This girl, Antoinette, needed to go see her boyfriend, and a plane ticket was four to five hundred dollars, and she found her grandmas green campus boots. So, she put them up for sale and oh my gosh, the backlash was hilarious. My favorite line was, Boyfriends come and go but Frye boots are forever,” Mooney said.

Mooney says the post increased demand for one of the company’s top sellers, the Frye Campus Boot.

“On fire, it’s unbelievable. It’s a special thing; it’s a crazy thing. It’s a viral thing and it’s a worldwide phenomenon,” he said.

The 230,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in Fenton distributes footwear nationwide to major retailers, their products include Baretraps, Spyder and Frye.

“If we get a container of shoes in on Thursday by Tuesday, its gone, and then we’re waiting on the next container to come in; its just a very special time,” Mooney said.


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That wasn’t always the case when he started with the company in 1993, eventually taking over for his dad.

“Business isn’t always easy. When I joined the company, it was difficult for four or five years, and then all of a sudden, we just kept plugging away. We had about a 10 to 12-year run where we just had tremendous growth,” Mooney said.

He believes it’s the 70+ employees who make the family-owned company what it is, because they’re family too.

“I don’t make it happen; my employees make it happen,” Mooney said. I get to make decisions, we get to set directions, we can coach, we can assist but they make it happen every day. They’re like family to us and that’s what’s so great about a family business.”

“It’s not all about how much money you can put in a bank. That does not make you happy. coming here every day working with these people that are my family. that makes me happy.”