The mere fact that the Greek leather sandal brand has become a fashion powerhouse in footwear and accessories while previously operating somewhat under the radar in its old Tel Aviv store – tells the whole story. Greek Sandals recently relocated to a central location in the heart of the city, with a sea view, high ceilings, and sunlight that bathes the entire store. There's truly no accurate way to describe the feeling upon entering, and once you hear the story behind the new address, everything clicks into place.
In the upcoming summer season, Greek Sandals – founded by Sandra Kadosh-Zakheim and Salomé Fakiel-Dayan, an Israeli and a Frenchwoman with a long-standing shared love for carefully curated Greek sandals – is opening a new chapter in the brand’s journey. The reopening of the flagship store is based within the walls of a historic building that once housed the iconic Café Marseand, one of Tel Aviv's legendary cafés founded in the 1950s, which had been closed for about a decade.
As devoted consumers of Greek leather sandals, they identified the gap in the market for a reasonably priced alternative to the basic rubber flip-flops that had migrated from the beach to every corner of street fashion. After successfully fulfilling their mission in recent years (with excellence, no less), which proved to be a saving grace for every woman’s shoe closet in Israel, they’ve now decided to deepen the brand’s connection to its inner intuition, aiming to offer an experience that is holistic, connected, and inspiring to the public. After a period of searching for the right place – the space, energy, and history simply “clicked” naturally. “We wanted to create a true summer home feeling, with a unique shopping experience that would leave a mark,” says Salomé, and you can see the excitement in her eyes.
As a tribute to the building’s glorious past and the vision of turning SUMR House into a living, breathing experience in the city, a new café – SUMR Café – is set to open this July next to the flagship store, offering a pleasant local street-side seating experience, right on the corner where Marseand once stood. The store walls, packed with sandals that look like an integral part of the wall, are an inseparable part of the place’s identity – and it seems that this summer, that wall is about to be filled with one of the brand’s most diverse collections to date.
We couldn’t help but notice the new shades: A no-less-than-stunning deep brown and croc-style leather, a new soft sole to be featured on best-selling models, and an additional line with golden buckles and details embellished with unique touches. Among other things, the store also includes accessories and clothing items in collaboration with Israeli brands: A women’s clothing collection in partnership with ATA WEAR, Hadas Avidani, All Three Studio, Made by Har, exclusive jewelry designs by Mon Bijou, and new international brands – including a connection formed during the COVID era with talented Colombian women creating handmade wonders (price range: NIS 95–1,470).
