How Did I Get Here? 

The Founder Story Behind HERSCHEDE in Phoenix

HERSCHEDE is a curated men’s boutique in Phoenix built for men who value personal style, individuality, and quality craftsmanship. Located on Central Avenue, the shop offers elevated menswear and a retail experience centered around conversation, community, and intentional style. Founder Eric Herschede shares the story behind opening one of Phoenix’s most distinctive men’s clothing stores.

One of the questions I hear most often since opening HERSCHEDE is simple: how did you get here? The truth is, like most things worth doing in life, the path wasn’t a straight line. It was a winding road.

My fascination with clothing started early. Even as a young boy, I was drawn to how people express themselves through what they wear. Clothing is more than fabric and stitching, it’s identity. I often say the clothes you wear are the cover of your book. They tell the world something about you long before you say a word. That idea stayed with me: individuality, confidence, and the quiet power of someone who knows exactly who they are. Those qualities continue to inspire what we’ve built at HERSCHEDE, a curated men’s boutique in Phoenix focused on personal style and individuality.

In high school, that interest deepened when I became friends with Mike Carter, who owned Carter’s Men’s Clothing. Spending time in that shop taught me something important: a great men’s store isn’t just about clothing. It’s about curation, conversation, and community. Friends drop in. New friendships begin. Style becomes part of the connection. That lesson stayed with me, even though the idea of opening a boutique remained in the background for many years.

Life has a way of accelerating. Careers are built, families grow, and communities take shape. Before you know it, decades have passed and the dreams of your younger years quietly move to the side. That isn’t failure, it’s simply life unfolding. For me, those years were spent in the mortgage industry, where I worked for 26 years. Along the way I was fortunate to work with incredible mentors and colleagues who taught me a great deal and allowed me to be myself. Still, somewhere inside I knew there was a space that hadn’t quite been filled.

When I celebrated my 58th birthday, I realized I had reached a crossroads. Life was good in the ways that truly matter, health, family, and friendships, but professionally something had shifted. My heart was no longer in it. Around that same time, a retail space opened up in the neighborhood I’ve always called home here in Phoenix, Arizona. My wife Molly, who had watched me wrestle with this internal shift, said something that changed everything: “Why don’t you open the men’s boutique you’ve always talked about?” That simple sentence gave me the courage to consider a dream that had quietly lived inside me for decades.

With the support of my family and a community of friends who believed in the vision, HERSCHEDE was born. Starting a new business later in life may not be typical, but as I often joke, I’ve always been a bit of a slow learner. HERSCHEDE exists because a community believed in me before I fully believed in myself.

Today, HERSCHEDE is more than just a men’s clothing store. It’s a curated menswear experience in Phoenix built around individuality, confidence, conversation, and connection. My hope is that when you stop by the store, you won’t just find great clothing, you’ll find a place where everyone who walks through the door is welcomed like a friend.

Because great style has always been about the same thing: knowing exactly who you are… and having just the right amount of wrong.

-Eric Herschede

If you’re ever nearby, stop in and say hello.

HERSCHEDE, 5068 N Central Ave, Phoenix 85012