My favorite pair of shoes

Well the time came for me to, I can hardly type the words, throw out my favorite pair of shoes. I can’t really remember how old they were but I knowI purchased them at the Bazaar Mall .Those of you that have lived in Kisco for a while will know that the Mall used to be where Target now stands. My shoes were so comfortable and the leather was broken in just right. I really didn’t think there was anything that could be done since they were so wornout and there was not much left of the sole. I put off the inevitable for aslong as I could and then as I was about to throw them out when my friend suggested I take them to Cobblers Corner on Main Street.

I didn’t think that Cobbler’s still existed in this day and age. I had passed that store front a million times and it never dawned on me to take them there. So off I went and I asked the guy if he thought he could replace the sole. He said he didn’t know he would have to check to see if the sole wasmade of real rubber or just Polyurethane. The verdict was in – they were RUBBER. I was never so happy to hear those words. He said to come back the next day and they would be done.I went back and to my amazement my shoes were beautifully restored to their earlier years. I put them on and instantly felt a good inch taller. I decided to find out a little about this father and son shop. I asked them if they wouldn’t mind if I did a story on them; the son Ralph Nuzzi smiled and the father Alex just said “oh – boy”. I took that as a yes and started to ask a few questions.It seems that the senior Nuzzi has been a Cobbler for over 50 years and taught his son Ralph everything he knows. Ralph was the only one who followed his father into the business. His brother tried it for a while but gave it up to become a fireman. Ralph has been in the business for 30 years and still enjoys it. This is their busy season with kids going back to school. I asked if he has seen an increase in business with the economy the way it is and he said there was a slight increase but now things have leveled out. I thought more people would try to save a few dollars by repairing what they already had instead of buying new. Ralph told me that the problem is that manufactures are using poorer quality materials and the cost to repair the shoes becomes exorbitant.The store is a quaint shop that has a squeaky floor as you walk on it. The repaired shoes line the wall on wooden shelves. They repair many items including handbags baseball gloves and just about everything in between.They can even dye your shoes to match your favorite chartreuse dress. When I asked what the most unusual item was that they were asked to repair I was told it was an ornamental leather elephant. Wow, not too many places can say that.

So if your leather items are in need of repair I recommend that youtake them to Cobblers Corner.