Kell’s Shoe Repair

I am really surprised how this guy is still in business. First, his prices are as expensive or even more than shore repair shops in downtown. First time I went there he asked for $ 20 to replace the tip on my heals. So I just took it to a place by my work in downtown and they did it for $ 15.
A year later I had to repair them again along with the other shoes. I decided to give that place another chance. He asked for $ 18 for the same job. So I let him do it this time. But the worst part of my experience is not overpaying, but that his repair did not last at all! The tip on one heal of one pair came off after 1 months, and on the other pair after 5 times wearing!!!
I took it back, but he said that is they way it is supposed to be! And he did agree to fix it or do any partial refund!
Save yourself money and trouble, and don’t bother going to this place.

I walked in with high hopes… which were soon crushed. After borrowing a friend’s boots one night, I got a little aggressive when removing them and broke the zipper pull. Note that the zipper itself wasn’t broken, nor was the slider broken, just the little loop on the slide that holds the dangly (like my technical language?) that you grab to actually pull up the zipper. Anyway… he looked at for what seemed like an eternity and then said… wait for it… $ 28. TWENTY EIGHT DOLLARS. For one zipper slider. Um, no.
Then, I thought, well I need keys as well, I’ll at least get these done while I’m here so it’s not a wasted trip. Oh, what’s that? $ 2.70 per key. Almost twice as much as keys cost at Ace. (No, it’s not an enormous amount, but I was getting 10 keys made, so, ya know.) I’m all for supporting small businesses, but I kind of got the feeling he didn’t want the business, because after he told me how much the keys were he just gave me this look like «you don’t still want them do you?»

So for starters, if you’re looking at the map on Unilocal and it’s a Bing map, it’s wrong. Google maps has it properly placed at the northeastern corner of Clarendon and Irving, not at Broadway and Irving. (You hear that, Unilocal?!Your cruddy Bing map is wrong!).
Anyway, review. Right.
This is a local little business that does two things: make keys and return shoes. The guy who runs it knows his stuff. He’s a tad eccentric. Not really the hop to the counter with a big welcoming smile type, but he knows his shoes.
Is this a local business? Yes.
Is he too expensive for your BOGO crap that you found at Payless? Yes.
Is he the perfect guy to bring your knee-​high just the perfect height heel black leather boots that you practically live in during the winter and you tend to walk through the heel? HECK YES.

I had to go out of town on Sunday, and realized on Thursday I needed to have a pair of shoes fixed. I called at 5pm and asked how late they were open. He said, «Are you coming tonight? When will you come?» I said I could be there in 20 minutes — he said he’d stay open til 5:30.
He was very friendly and cheerful. He took one look at my shoes and said, «Tomorrow, between 4 and 5pm?» YOU GOT IT. 24 hour turnaround on shoes is AWESOME. 2 pairs of shoes for $ 20.
Shoes came back better than I expected them to be, and they’ve held up well. I’m really pleased.
Word of warning: it’s a little tricky to find, so just be on your toes when you’re looking.

the guy who owns this little shop is always friendly and happy to be doing his job! the shop is a little all over the place… keys on the walls, piles of leather shoe strings… leather shoes, etc. i’ve gone in twice to get copies of keys made — price is right, quick service (literally 2 minutes), the guy is experienced and knows his stuff, and it feels good to support a mom and pop shop!

I live close to this place so I decided to take my boots here to replace the heels to make them softer. The owner told me that he would not use soft rubber (as I requested) because they would wear down too quickly. I thought well he knows best as long as he can get them quieter its alright with me. Then I asked how much it would be and he told me that he was going to charge $ 18 for two of my shoes and $ 28 for the other pair. I thought fair enough, but I was curious what he was going to do to that other pair that made it more expensive. He then told me that it wasn’t his job to tell me what he was going to do to the boots, it was his job to fix them. I proceeded to put my boots back in my bag and told him he may want to learn a thing or two about customer service
I went back home and Unilocaled shoe repair places. The first one the came up was «Your Shoe Repair». It had all kind of raving review about the owner and I drove there. The owner said he’d stay past seven if I was late, no problem. He then replaced my heels with soft rubber and charged me $ 10/​pair and had them ready for me the very next day! Don’t go to Kell’s, if you have something specific in mind for your shoes. At least in my experience, he wants as little interaction between himself and his customers as possible and won’t give you the time of day.

Charming hovel. Needed extra keys. Perfect. Floor strewn with Korean newspapers; not exactly sure why — maybe because it was raining today? I don’t know. The guy who works here/​owns this place was eating when we arrived and talked to us with his mouth full of food, and crumbs of food were falling out of his mouth as he spoke. Gross. But he was helpful, and prompt.
Keys, shoes, leather repair. Odd. Fun.

I have this habit of walking REALLY hard on high heels. I honestly don’t know how they don’t just break right off. Alas, they just wear down until I am clomping around the city on steel posts, making everyone cringe at the sound of steel on concrete. Not good. So I figured, I should find a way to get these things fixed before I 1. fall on the ice and hurt myself 2. someone else hurts me because of it.
So, I head down the street to Kell’s. I’ve seen the little basement sign a billion times, but never had a reason to stop in.
Welllllll. Not much help. The guy is very nice, but unfortunately a bit inflexible. Cash only, 50 percent deposit, $ 18 PER PAIR of shoes to fix the heels. EEK, I barely paid that much for the shoes, so I best wasn’t going to be paying that much to get them fixed. Back to the drawing board.
I bought my own at a shoe repair store, and fixed them myself for about $ 5 TOTAL.
However, if you need any type of expensive leather strap, etc fixed… I think this place is definitely worth a shot.
He also makes keys, which is worthwhile to note :)
Clomp on.