Emilio Shoe Repair

the best. neighborhood shop with neighborhood charm and big city ability/​efficiency. had a zipper on a bag break and no one else would fix it, eddie did it overnight. highly recommend!

I was so glad to see other 5 star reviews here — this man deserves it. I’ve been coming to him for the past five years thanks to a tip from some locals. He’s a master craftsman, and runs his own down home shop. His prices are good and his work is great. And he’s got a very funny and dry sense of humor that we love. He also replaces our watch batteries. The other day I went in with a broken zipper on my favorite guitar gig bag and he quickly figured out the pull-​part needed to be clamped tighter — he did that in a minute and sent me on my way — for free! That’s the way to treat a regular customer — and you can be sure i’ll be going back. His knowlege and experience… he’s GOOD. Other people may have replaced the whole zipper!

I bought a pair of relatively inexpensive boots online that I absolutely adored. Of course the downside of buying cheap boots, is they sometimes fall apart. Within the second wear, the heel came off. Being as obsessed with them as I was, I kept wearing them despite one missing. In the process I completely wore down one heel.
When I brought them into Emilio’s, with the chunk of heel, he immediately threw out the piece that had come off, let me know it was garbage, and that what he would give me was «not garbage.» $ 15 later and VERY quickly, he not only replace the heels on BOTH boots, but completely filled in the the ½ inch of heel that was missing. I can barely tell which one he fixed.
Photos included. Can’t wait to unload my closet of damaged shoes on him.

Emilio happily services your tired worn soles in a non-​descript shop shared with a jewelry seller (who may be related to him) and he also does watch repair and sells winter accessories. Like any shoe place, it smells of fresh polish and is cluttered with year’s worth of shoe supplies, in progress projects, and ephemera.
I’ve used Emilio twice, both for heel replacements. My husband dropped off two pairs of dress shoes for re-​soling and polish. For heels, replacing the stiletto pad is $ 7. A full sole replacement on men’s shoes is $ 38, but includes a full polish and all the coloring work to make sure the new soles look like a proper match. We’re satisfied with the work (but we’re also not talking about super expensive shoes or high end work). Its cheaper than getting the work done in Midtown or going to buy another pair of shoes.
That said, Emilio is open on weekdays from about 7 am to about 5 pm. It’s not terribly convenient hours, but if its on your way, its not a bad deal.
I would advise taking a picture of your shoes before giving them to Emilio — both times I’ve gone its taken Emilio more than 5 minutes to find the shoes. Having a picture on hand should speed that up.
CASH ONLY

I only had one experience here, but I got the heels of my boots replaced and 2 months later both heel thingies have completely loosened and are about to fall off. I’ve never had that happen with my old shoe repair place in Williamsburg.
Pro: I had a watch link removed and he was very speedy.

Fast, quick and reasonable shoe repair. I dropped off a pair of shoes and picked them up just minutes late with fresh heels and polish. The shoes are like new again!

If you want someone that has pride in their craft then don’t come here. Shoddy does not even describe what he did. I had to get a zipper fixed on a purse. He didn’t even have to replace the entire zipper. He only had to put the closure part back on which I had. He cut an end off to do it and did a horrific job putting it back together. It looks ruined, not repaired. Maybe his shoe work is better but he’ll never see my business again.

The basics:
I brought 2 pairs of boots and 2 pairs of shoes here, all of which I’ve had for years and had worn down to the point of being unwearable. I thought I only needed new taps, but Emilio pointed out some damaged areas and convinced me to replace the soles on both pairs of boots. When I picked up my things, not only were the repairs great, but he’d polished and glossed all of the ugly toe and heel scuffs, making each pair look almost as good as new. The price was fair, considering the work was beyond what I’d expected to have done.
The pluses:
There is a sweet Russian lady in the shop (maybe his wife?) who does tailoring and repairs. So I dropped off one of my favorite pairs of pants, which I hadn’t worn in years because it needed a repair (rear seam) no one else would attempt. «No problem, I fix,» she said. Two days later, she showed me where she had reinforced and reconstructed the seam. $ 7 to salvage a beloved piece? Bargain!
I also picked up a vintage sterling silver bracelet for way less than its weight as scrap, from those among the case of interesting but mostly crappy estate jewelry in the shop. Fun if you like a «find,» as I do.
The bottom line:
Don’t come here for high end, impeccable service. Do come for reasonably priced repairs, quick turnaround and a quirky one-​stop Mom ‘n’ Pop feel.

1) I take a watch in to have the battery replaced. The swarthy Russian man (Emilio?) tells me he doesn’t have the right tools but that he should be able to do it, anyway. I come back later and the watch is working, but there is a significant gouge where he’s dug out the back of the casing. Okay fine — guess they’re not very careful with watches and jewlery. Maybe they’re better with shoes?
2) I take a pair of leather boots in for a quick polish. I tell him I don’t want them blacked because I want to keep the distressed look — only a clear polish. I come back later and he hands me my now glossy, patent leather, Fred Astaire-​worthy combat boots. Fine — I guess I wasn’t specific enough with my request.
3) I take a messenger bag in to have the magnetic clasps and worn velcro strips replaced. He tells me that since this will require him to take out the lining it will cost some money. $ 20, he says. It’s a little more than I want to spend on this bag but I’ve done a little stitching myself and I know that lining can be a pain so I agree on the price.
I come back later to find that he has only replaced one of the magnetic clasps and has done none of the reinforcing that he promised («it didn’t need it»). He has also replaced only the velcro hooks; worthless, since it was the loops that were worn out.
He originally quoted me $ 20 because he was going to have to take the bag apart, but he never even touched the lining. If the one magnetic clasp cost him $ 4 (a generous estimate) and the velcro piece $ 1 (also generous, since it’s cut from a roll), then that’s 15 bucks for about 3 – 5 minutes of labor.
I asked him if he would go down on the price, since the bag «didn’t need» the labor he had originally quoted as necessary. He refused and started yelling at me «you don’t think this is worth $ 20?! You think i don’t know what my work is worth?! Who are you?!» I gave him his $ 20 just to get out of there.
Don’t take your stuff here.

You ever walk into your crazy Russian uncle’s living room when he’s buying used (stolen?) watches off of someone by the handful and ask him if he can resole your shoes?
Well if you have then you’ll know exactly what going into Emillio’s is like — i kid you not someone one was selling a HANDFUL of watches when i walked in.
That said, it’s a great spot for quick and inexpensive repairs from shoes to handbags and watches. The work is not super high-​end (don’t bring your $ 1000 Minola Blonics here) but for the basic heel/​sole repair, he’s quick and fair. I have also had a watch-​band replaced and a zipper replaced — however don’t expect to have it your way — this is not McDonalds.
As he’s cutting off and preparing my calf-​skin leather loafers (soft and supple is the key)
me — «oh plastic soles, i’d like leather for those»
Emillio (russian accent «no ptaschtik es bet-​her»
me — «yeah well i like the give of the natural soles for comfort even if they don’t last as long»
Emillio — «no you like this — last for two years»
*gluing the plastic sole on*