Labo in Staten Island is at Quazi Supply, 519 Port Richmond Avenue, 10302. Open 11 to 8 every day. We stock the Labo line for slip-resistant work — the standard outsole and the waterproof variants — across the trades that walk on slick surfaces all day. Drivers, warehouse, restaurant kitchen, and restaurant front-of-house all reach for it.
The slip-resistant question is the one Labo solves. ASTM F2913-rated outsoles, lab-tested coefficient of friction, real grip on wet tile, oily kitchen floor, freezer warehouse floor, or rain-slick truck step. The compound is rubber-blend, the lug pattern is engineered to channel liquid, and the construction is cement-built (not Goodyear) which keeps the price under $100 for the standard line.
The standard slip-resistant Labo is the SKU. 6-inch lace, soft toe (no cap), oil-and-water-resistant leather upper, removable EVA insole, oil-and-slip-resistant outsole. We sell a lot of these to delivery drivers and warehouse pickers who don't need a safety toe but absolutely need a foot that doesn't slide on a wet loading dock at 5 AM.
The waterproof variant adds a sealed seam and a waterproof membrane to the same upper. Restaurant kitchen staff who deal with washdowns at end of shift, fish-market workers, and dock crews on the North Shore in November pick the waterproof. Worth the extra $25 if your floor is wet for any part of the day.
Composite-toe and steel-toe versions exist in the line but aren't the volume — most people buying Labo are buying for slip resistance, not for impact protection. If you need a safety toe AND slip resistance, we usually point you to the safety-toe Labo or to a Timberland Pro slip-resistant variant depending on the price point.
Fit reality: Labo runs true to size, moderate toe box, narrow at the heel. The stock insole is functional but thin — many guys swap in a Powerstep on day one. The leather upper softens within a week of wear. Lifespan in our experience is 10 to 14 months on hard-use restaurant or warehouse work, which is roughly average for a sub-$100 work boot.
Trades that buy Labo: delivery drivers (UPS-style, USPS, local courier — anyone in and out of a truck twenty times a day on a wet step), warehouse pickers and forklift operators, restaurant line cooks and dishwashers, restaurant front-of-house staff who need a black slip-resistant that passes a uniform inspection, hospital food-service workers, and grocery store stockers.
Pricing is a real factor. The Labo standard sits in the $70-$95 range. Waterproof is $90-$115. For a foreman or a restaurant manager outfitting a crew of ten on a budget, that's manageable money — and the slip-resistance rating is a real liability mitigator.
Fleet accounts open at five items per order. Restaurant groups outfitting kitchen staff for a new opening, warehouse operations onboarding a class of pickers, and delivery companies kitting out drivers all hit the volume tier on a single PO.
Walk in. 519 Port Richmond Ave. The slip-resistance is the entire pitch and you'll feel it on the linoleum we keep in the back room. Step on a wet section of tile and the Labo doesn't go anywhere. That's the whole product.