Mike’s Shoe Repair

DO NOT go to this shoe repair!!! I took in my $ 350 Burberry rain boots that I wore 2 times last winter and he completely ruined them. It had a white film over the rubber part so I wanted to just clean them up! 3 days later I came to pick up my boots and first off he couldn’t even find them and I saw them on the top shelf just lying there and pointed it out. When he gave me the boots I immediately knew something was off with them. I paid $ 8 and went back to my car. I checked out the boots in my car and I don’t know what the heck he did to them but he destroyed my $ 350 boots! He painted some weird black stuff all over the rubber and was careless about it and got it all over the Burberry fabric part in the middle. Also there were drip marks all over the rubber from whatever he put on there. I went back and told him about it and he said he’d fix it and wait 20 minutes for it to dry. I go home and they weren’t fixed… It took him $ 8 to just ruin my $ 350 boots! I can’t believe how careless he was with them and I have no idea why he got 4.5 stars! They literally looked better before I brought them in. Anyways, I don’t usually write reviews but I wanted to inform everyone so it doesn’t happen to you!

I have been frequenting Mike’s shop for a few years now, and find him to be the best shoe repair shop on the North Shore. He is very skilled, always friendly and his prices are very reasonable. I once had a pair of pricey sandles that were ill fitting for my narrow foot, and he totally eyeballed (no real measurements!) the considerable work that had to be done for a proper fit, and got it right on the first try — pretty amazing! More commonly, I’ve had him do minor adjustments on boots and belts and purse straps and he has never disappointed. I particularly admire his can-​do attitude when faced with any project even if it falls outside of his main wheelhouse. Highly recommended.

Luggage Repair, Too. Come for the expertise; relax about the casual customer service. I needed to replace a handle on my roller bag that I use for the office for computer and everything else. The handle replacement was guaranteed by the manufacturer however they took forever (2 months?) to get the right handle to the store. I found that I had to stay in touch with Mike who leaves it up to customers to track the progress. Given the free service and the friendly conversations I give this shop a 5. Oh, a customer commented on the brown paper bags. They are the BEST to store shoes in. Plastic bags will ruin the shine.

My dance shoe’s soles were coming apart a year of use and Mike’s was able to put it back together good as new within a week. Good price and service. It doesn’t get better than this!
PS It looks just like what I’d imagine an old-​school shoe cobbler’s place would look like.

I’m so thankful to fellow helpers for helping me find this gem. I had a quality pair of winter boots and its sole came off. I wanted to have it repaired and that’s when I turned to Unilocal.After reading reviews I decided to give Mike’s a try and I’m pleased with the results. It was fixed within 2 days for $ 14 and my favorite pair is saved.
They are cash only for payments so take cash. Price is reasonable and you also help the local small business.
I know where to go for shoe repairs now

This place is hilarious. It’s a tiny establishment and you walk in and every single pair of shoes is stuck on the wall somewhere in a sketchy wrinkled paper bag. I see brands from Jimmy Choo to sketchers, all in these bags.
Bringing in a pair of mid-​term beater boots with no heel left but that I love dearly, Mike didn’t bat an eye at the dirty/​holey/​scuffed condition I gave them to him in. Just a ticket he told me not to lose and a date 4 days later for pick up. How much? $ 16. Great deal to me seeing how someone in Chicago downtown quoted me nearly $ 75 for basically the same job with a polish.
I come back, expecting to see a shiny new heel on otherwise still scuffed and dirty shoes given the price I paid. He goes to the wall of sketchy brown paper baggies, fishes mine under a huge pile and hand them to me. I glance at the heel and they look like… well, a new heel as advertised, and I walk out the store.
Out of the poor lighting of the store which feels like your grandfather’s attic where the entire family store their forsaken belongings, I notice my boots look pretty darn good! He threw on a pretty thorough polish and appeared to have even tried to buff out some of the more severe scuffs. The heel is fine and blends great with the sole, which I did not replace. The same job in Chicago proper would’ve cost me 5x as much and ample snootiness.
Would definitely come again for any shoes from beaters to mid-​tier. He does good work it seems with a great price but I can see myself cringing watching him dig my delicate designer heels out of a pile and walking out of the store clutching a brown paper bag like a drunk trying to evade open container laws. That being said, others seem to trust him with their fine shoes and my boyfriend says his experience is whatever container you give him your shoes in (box, etc), he will return it in.
Parking is easy (bring a quarter — it will be ample), don’t lose the ticket, and bring your own box if you are worried about the paper bag mountain.

Mike & his staff are Fantastic — Very hard working crew and Mike always has a friendly word or a funny story to share. Its run the way it should be run — cash only!
PS And a thump on the head to those customers who leave their shoes month after month. You can just tell when you go there’s customer wares that linger for months on end. If it were me, I’d toss them out after 60 days!

I almost never take the time to write Unilocal reviews, but in this case I feel compelled to. To me, Mike’s is what shoe repair place should be. They are friendly, do a really good job, and the prices are so reasonable (much more reasonable than the shoe repair place that’s closer to my home). I go out of my way to go to Mike’s.
It’s the kind of place where if you don’t have cash, they say «no problem, just pay me next time you’re in”– and trust you to do so. What more needs to be said? I hope these guys stay in business a long time. There are so few «old-​school» shoe repair places anymore. This one is a gem.

They do quality work. I had them do an eyelet on my wallet and a button snap on a knife sheath. Both turned out better than I expected. Really solid, sturdy, and they both look good. The people working there are also really nice, and friendly. I highly recommend going here!
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES, PEOPLE!!!

Really nice work, reasonable turnaround time. They re-​soled two pairs of La Canadiennes for me and fixed some crumpled insoles on my husband’s Frye boots. Nice work, low price, and they’re cheerful!

Mike fixed three pairs of shoes for me. After three months of wearing the shoes occasionally the heels fell off again, when I went back to him to show him what happened he pretty much told me «what do you want me to do about it?» if I knew the shoes would only last for only another 3 months, for the price I paid for fixing the shoes I could have just invested into a new pair.

Great place to repair any shoes, even for DANCERS! Highly professional service! Extremely reasonable prices! They will repair your laggage as well!
I will never go anywhere else!

i brought in a pair of leather boots to get the heels fixed because they had worn been worn to the point where they were completely uneven. Mike did an excellent job repairing the heel and explained to me exactly what he was going to do when I asked. It only take a day or two, and I’d definitely take my shoes back here again!

Dropped off a boot to get the zipper fixed. First, was cheap at only $ 5. Second, when I went to pick up my boot I didn’t have cash or a check (that is all they accept) — he said «No, problem. Here’s your boot just come back tomorrow to pay.» So nice and kind. I came back and paid. Loved that he remembered me eventhough he clearly is busy as people came in before and after me. Very friendly and trusting. Wish more businesses were ran like his. Will take any and all leather/​shoe repairs to him going forward!

the best find on central street, (and I’m a very big fan of the paper source!) They have taken very worn and loved shoes and boots and for an unbelievable price returned brand new looking items. I would travel far to keep using Mike, but happily I don’t have to. Honestly makes me feel better about spending a little more for quality footwear, knowing that Mike will extend the lifespan for manys easons.

I brought in a pair of boots to have one sole reglued and stitched. They finished it in the time he quoted me and restitched/​cleaned both. When I found it was cash or check only and realized that I didn’t have the $ 14 on hand, he just told me to come back tomorrow to pay if I needed to (I found an ATM right down the street). Great service and high-​quality results.

I have had my shoes cleaned and shined, as well as soles and heels replaced. I wear Allen Edmonds shoes and the shop does as good a job as AE. They use AE heels and German leather for the soles. Mike’s charges half of what AE charges.

Wow! My boots not only had holes in their soles but had this crappy material surrounding the heels that was really peeling off. Mike completely replaced my soles and made them look better than when I had bought them. And he smoothed down the weird material surrounding my heels with some special varnish without me even asking him to do so! Great business with great service.

Excellent, friendly service — all completed on time, at an incredibly reasonable price.
I dropped off literally 10+ pairs of Tory Burch flats, wedges & heels that I thought were well beyond repair with Mike. He repaired them expertly and brought them back to life — in under a week. I was especially impressed with his repair of 2 pairs of wedges, both pairs had part of the heels totally ground away. Mike was able to re-​build the heels, making them look brand new. I also had a pair of plastic flats that had torn on one side — those were saved too! Mike was able to sew a piece of leather onto the side of the shoe to stitch the tear back up.
I’ve been to a few other shoe repair places in downtown Chicago and have not been nearly as pleased with the results (for over double the price). The drive to Evanston is well worth it. You will not be disappointed.

This place is cash or check only. Although it seems most of Mike’s customers bring shoes, he can do all kinds of leather work, from ice skates to purses.
It cost $ 14 to replace the heels of my ankle boots (which he also cleaned for free), and $ 8.75 to replace the tattered strap for my handbag.
It’s best to call ahead to see if your item is finished. When I dropped off my purse, Mike had originally told me it would be ready on in 1 week, but it ended up taking 2.5 weeks. Still, I was happy with the finished work.