Touring the San Antonio Shoe (SAS) Factory

by Colleen Pence

Look down. See those shoes on your feet? Did you ever wonder where they were made? Who made them? How they were made? If you haven't, maybe your curious preschooler has. San Antonio Shoes (SAS), an all-American-made shoe company, was started in 1976 right here in San Antonio. The company gives regular tours of their factory, located on the southwest side of town, in the same vicinity as their General Store which sells adult shoes and handbags as well as children's shoes. My children and I, along with my aunt and uncle who were visiting from Florida and who are both die-hard SAS wearers, took a guided tour last week to learn how their shoes are made.

After our experience, I recommend the tour for older preschoolers (five to six years of age). My daughter, Delaney, is three and although she's got a pretty good attention span, she ran out of steam about 25 minutes into the 45-minute tour. This could have been disastrous because you can't abandon the tour whenever you want due to the fact that you take a shuttle bus from the SAS General Store to the factory and then back to the General Store. But I didn't fret when Delaney got bored because we found a bench in an air conditioned entry halfway through the tour and we were able to sit and enjoy a snack until the rest of our group finished the tour. Our shuttle bus driver and tour guide were extremely helpful and accommodated everyone, especially those on the tour with children. They even helped me get our stroller-for-two in and out of the bus at every stop.

During the 25 minutes when Delaney did pay attention, she was fascinated with how the leather was cut into pieces for the various shoe designs (I would have taken a really cool photo of this but they don't allow cameras on the tour!). She also paid particular attention to the assembly of leather purses. I tried to make the tour more meaningful to her throughout by tying what she saw to things she'd understand (See the way the lady cut that leather? That will be for the front part of a shoe, just like this piece of leather you have on the front of your shoe here.). Tours of the factory are held three times a day. SAS requests that you call ahead to reserve space as their tours fill up quickly.

Children of all ages will love the SAS General Store. A throwback to a simpler time, the SAS General Store sells seconds of the adult shoes and handbags made in the nearby factory (Usually the only thing wrong with them is a small imperfection in the leather.). SAS also sells high-quality children's shoes that they make right there inside the General Store. Delaney picked out a pair of super-soft, pink leather, flowered sandals that my aunt and uncle bought for her (Gotta love those gifts from visiting relatives!) and we watched an artisan create a similar pair of shoes right next to the kids' shoe display. Watching the woman build the tiny shoes by hand was a great way for Delaney to understand and appreciate how the shoes she had on were made (and as soon as she tried on her pink pair there was no taking them off!).

Be sure to bring along any extra change you have when you visit the SAS General Store. In addition to shoes they also sell concessions at early 20th century prices: bags of popcorn for 5 cents, sodas for 10 cents and bags of roasted nuts for 50 cents. I'd only brought a ten dollar bill with me and the lady at the popcorn stand was unable to make change. Thank goodness for the lady behind the soda fountain who took pity on this thirsty, breastfeeding mama and slipped me a free drink. The General Store also has an ice cream parlor and candy shop inside as well as a gifts department, a classic car on display and a gigantic, stuffed Brahma bull. You'll come for the tour and the comfortable, made-in-America shoes but you'll stay for the cheap snacks and entertaining atmosphere. It's a place every child will love!

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