Tony’s Shoe Clinic

Tony is a great «old school» shoe cobbler. He can make your leather boots look like new. I have been going to him for years. It’s not fancy or pretentious, but the quality of work is great!

Great people and amazing work. He has replaced heals and stitched.

Tony’s has repaired shoes, belts and bags for me, all with fine results. I have not had a problem with the ‘business side’ either. I took a purse to be repaired and they found and repaired a snap I hadnt noticed was loose, and for no extra cost (Nice surprise)
Yes: owner has a ‘get it done’ communication style, but I dont really expect/​need schmoozing and conversing at the shoe repair store.
It is a little gem in the neighborhood, I love the convenience, good quality, and quick turnaround time.

Once again Tony did a great job repairing my husbands shoes. New soles and heels made these shoes look like new. He even replaced a missing tassel that I didn’t even know about but my husband sure noticed the attention to detail that he always gives his customers! And fast service!

The worst. Didn’t honor a gift certificate he gave to and was later issued by the Oak Park River Forest Chamber of Commerce. Lied about it. Lied about the material he was going to use on a shoe repair. I’ll never do business here. He may actually do good work, but Tony’s character is all to evident. Sorry.

I dropped off a boot of mine to have the little rubbery piece at the tip of the heel replaced about 2 weeks ago. It only cost $ 7 and was completed by the end of the day. The location is convenient the staff greeted me warmly both times I walked in. What more can I say…5 Stars!

Tony’s is a bit of a local fixture here in OP. Although his prices have gone up a bit, or at least it seems, they are fair. All my repairs, shines, and resoles have been completed in a timely manner and done with quality workmanship.
I find it kind of funny seeing people complain about the dank basement feel and «surly» owner. It’s shoe repair… what do you expect?
For anybody interested in a REAL shoe repair, go see Tony and take a deep breath of the shoe polish; it’s good for you, really.

Work is excellent. The owner is surly appearing. As good reviews increase, so do his prices. Heels should not cost $ 15. and they have no business ability. However, there are few shoe repairs left. I do not know what they pay for that horrible basement area with no windows but the owner should be ashamed to have rented it in the first place.
I am not going back because they do not appreciate steady customers.

Terrible customer service and non-​existent business systems.
I’ve been going here for a while and putting up with the salty staff because they do good work at a good price. However, my experience today ended the relationship. To sum it up: I had to print off a copy of my cleared check to get my shoes out because their system of recording payment is non existent. THEN, to add insult to injury, the owner offered up that this wasn’t his fault and there was nothing he could do about it.
Time to go to River Forest!!! C ya Tony’s

This place not only raised my Ugg Boots from the dead, but they also fixed my all time favorite Steve Madden heels for only $ 15!!! After a night of partying I came home and very lazily took off my heels without unbuckling the strap… well the strap broke and I was distraught! I didn’t think they could be fixed but I decided to bring them Over to Tony’s since I’ve used their services before for my boots. Not only did they fix the strap, they also replaced the elastic in the other shoe ! I’m so grateful for this place, I can’t wait to slide my feet back into my favorite, newly fixed shoes! I’m sure Steve Madden himself would be pleased.

Just returned from Tony’s to pick up my Born Shoes, which were to be cleaned, polished and weather-​proofed. I turned over the shoes and still saw dirt in the treads.
I was told, «We don’t clean the bottom of shoes.» What?
I asked, «Did you weather-​proof them?» She takes out a spray can, sprays them slightly and throws them in a bag and hands them to me.
The reason they demand 50% Cash upfront is because their customer service plan is to actually do very little for you. NO RECOURSE AND YOU’LL LIKE IT!
Save your cash and go to other local and nice shoe repair shops.
I wonder if they’ll clean the bottom of the IRS Auditor’s shoes? I hope to read about it someday soon.

This is THE place I come for all my shoes. It can be hard to stop if you’re just walking down Oak Park Avenue but it’s right before you hit the nail shop at the crosswalk.
Love that it only takes a few days and that it’s right off the train stop. I drop my shoes off in the morning and pick them up on my way home in about two or three days later. Not a long wait, at all.
Note that their re-​soleing price has went up. It used to be something like $ 7, and now it’s about $ 30. Now those soles are reserved for heels I wear more than once a year. Just bring cash because they haven’t hopped on the swipe train yet.

Service: Rude and unfriendly. Tried to be conversational when I was in there… no personality from anyone at the front desk. Is my business important to them?
Repairs: They tried to up sell me on things I didn’t need. I asked for a repair for a leather reinforcement, which was not done when I picked up my shoes, and they still tried to charge me for it. I refused. Walked about not paying for part and mad.
Good part: they’re nearby and quick turn around. But I’ll be looking elsewhere.

Great location. Close to home. But…
I brought in a pair of boots only to have the heels resoled. The service was fast. My complaint is that the repair was a bit pricey and the quality of work; well, was mediocre and sloppy. I won’t be returning.

It is so fun to go down from bustling Oak Park Avenue into this little tiny hole in the wall shop. Literally.
They have a few things for sale (Dr. Scholls inserts and shoe polish) but I’ve never paid attention to that. I go to Tony’s to drop off shoes.
The customer service isn’t exactly top-​notch, but it’s not bad either. I think they’re just efficient at what they do. I once forgot my stub (the paper they gave me when I left my shoes with them) and they had to manually go through ALL of their shoes to find mine. They did all that without complaining or making me feel bad.
It’s crazy how Tony can breathe new life into shoes. He can make them like new again! Sometimes that sort of rejuvenation can be a bit spendy… but depending on the value of the shoe the expense might be worth it. For me, spending $ 20 to resole a shoe is better than paying $ 100 for new ones. But that’s just me.
On a side note, I’ve seen other folks drop off belts, satchels, and purses for leather repair. It’s good to know that Tony’s can do more than just shoes!

Tony did AMAZING work on a pair of men’s dress shoes I needed spiffed up. They were in bad shape– salt stains, holes in the soles, badly worn down heel. Tony said no problem and promised them to me that same day.
When I picked them up, they were super shiny and had a really nice new sole, which matched the shoe perfectly. They’re also salt treated now, which is great for these waning days of Chicago winter, when there’s just salt everywhere.
A couple of things to note– it’s cash or check only, and Tony asks for half up front. I didn’t have that, so I gave him 10, which seemed to work fine, but it’s probably better to go in prepared. It’s not cheap, but it’s definitely affordable. Assuming the repairs on this pair hold up, I’ll be back for sure!

What is not to love. A local business, with a great staff. I have taken more problems to them over the years than anyone should, and everytime they have a solution. Sure they can clean up a shoe with the best of them, but they work some serious magic in the repair shop. They are fast, friendly, and family owned.
They do great work at a great price.

Again, I took a favorite pair of my wife shoes to Tony’s, and they did the shoe repair equivalent of using shock paddles to bring them back to life.
I have been to Tony’s now at least a half a dozen times, and never come away anything less than amazed at the transformation of my sad old looking shoes into something that looks darn near brand new. Tony’s shoe clinic rocks.

As shoe repair places go, it’s worth it to me to trek the 30 plus miles to this place and get my shoes done right, than hedge bets on places in the north and northwest burbs that assure you they can do what you want, then mess things up.
I brought in an expensive pair of Ferragamo’s to this place needing leather soles and half heels. Tony matched the sole well — didn’t throw on some clumpy old thing from stock. Soles were perfect too — got them back as if they were new. I don’t feel that way when leaving other shoe repair places.
This guy is Geppeto reincarnated!

«Calceo reparo!»
Tony’s Shoe Clinic is a sub-​street level muggle footwear & leather goods repair shop. Magically refurbished shoes are piled up high in brown paper bags with numbered receipts stapled to the outside. Tony, who is a clever cross between Ollivander & a cob-​goblin, can expertly repair whatever you bring in with his work-​worn hands & glue-​gun wand: shoes, boots, ice-​skates, handbags, luggage, & codpieces!
(But, if you are looking for latte scented shoe humidors & brocade foot settees, take a poulaine portkey to Parvenu Pumps Patch-​up Palace instead!)