Airports have played a central role in Thomas McNees’ life.
A graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a business degree, he previously worked as food and beverage manager for the Hyatt Regency at Pittsburgh International Airport. The Pittsburgh airport was also where he met his wife, Julie, whose family ran a shoeshine company spanning seven airports, including Pittsburgh.
And since 2003, Rhode Island’s T.F. Green Airport has been home for Thomas and Julie McNees’ own shoeshine company, PVD Shines, which has a permanent chair set up by the airport food court. Although the company grew out of Julie McNees’ family business, Leather Care, it has established itself independently in the intervening 17 years, with nearly 200,000 shoeshines as of February, according to Thomas McNees, who serves as managing operator for the business.
A standard, seven-minute shine costs $7, while a deluxe service that includes pulling the laces from the shoes to better clean the tongue costs $9. Boot shines cost $12 or $16 depending on the height of the boot.
Unfortunately, PVD Shines was forced to shut down its services in mid-March when the coronavirus crisis began and social-distancing guidelines made it impossible to operate shoeshine locations. McNees said the business will restart once the crisis has passed.
Before the pandemic, the business had not changed much from its early days – dyes, water-soluble stains and waxes remain the staples for cleaning leather shoes. But while leather is still king among shoe materials, PVD Shines also has products suitable for suede, nubuck and even sneakers.
Interest in maintaining quality leather shoes is also much higher than it was a decade ago, McNees said, particularly among businesspeople who comprise a majority of PVD Shines’ airport clientele – mostly men, but increasingly women too.
“You can’t make a deal if you have dirty heels,” he said.
Winter months, with salt-treated roads, are harshest on shoes and tend to be the best for his business. July and August, when sandals reign supreme and adults passing through the airport are more likely to have kids in tow, barely account for any of the company’s revenue, McNees said.
A partnership with Foxwoods Resort Casino has brought in additional revenue, although the coronavirus has forced the partnership into hiatus. For the last five years, PVD Shines has served as a contractor offering free shoeshines to casino customers on weekends. More recently, the company expanded again, offering its services for private parties and events with a lightweight, portable shoeshine chair on wheels. PVD Shines has made rounds to everything from the Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants’ annual meeting to a jewelry showcase put on by Providence Diamond.
While T.F. Green promises to remain the business’s bread and butter when the pandemic subsides – the source of about 50 shoeshines per day versus 10 to 25 at the casino during normal times – expansion has helped increase awareness of and interest in the company and reached a different demographic.
“A lot of people don’t know about shoeshines,” said McNees. “Particularly when they see us, and see how their shoes look after, they say, ‘Wow, that’s a cool idea.’ ”
OWNER: Julie McNees
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Shoeshine company
LOCATION: T.F. Green Airport, 2000 Post Road, Warwick
EMPLOYEES: Three
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 2003
ANNUAL SALES: $100,000
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Lavin@PBN.com.
