Heels & soles
Rubber, leather, and stacked heels rebuilt or replaced. Half-soles, full soles, toe taps, and the little rubber pads that stop the click on tile.
shoe repair · key cutting · since 1987
We bring the worn back to the walk.
Somewhere between the subway and the grocery run, on the ground floor of a brick building that has outlived three banks, sits a small counter where shoes come back to life. We are a family-run repair shop — father and daughter, two benches, one key machine older than both of us — and for nearly forty years we have done the quiet work that keeps a city walking.
You bring us a heel worn down to the nail, a sole flapping at the toe, a zipper that gave up in February. We take it apart, rebuild it, and hand it back in a few days — or, for keys, in the time it takes to read the sports page. Nothing leaves the counter until it is right, and nothing leaves without a price agreed on up front.
We are not fast-fashion. We are the opposite of fast-fashion. We are the shop you walk past for a year and finally step into when the good boots give out — and then you keep coming back, because the boots are good again, and because we remember your name.
What we do
Zippers & stitching
Boot zippers replaced, seams re-stitched, linings patched. We keep a rack of zippers in every length and colour you didn't know existed.
Leather care
Conditioning, polishing, waterproofing, and colour restoration. We bring the scuffed and the faded back to a deep, even finish.
Key cutting
House keys, car keys, mailbox keys, and high-security blanks. Cut and tested on the spot — most are done in under five minutes.
Stretch & fit
Stretching tight shoes, widening pinch points, and adding grip to smooth soles. If it pinches, we can usually fix it.
Bags & belts
Straps, buckles, and stitching on leather bags and belts. The same bench, the same thread, the same patience.
Common jobs & ballpark prices
Every job is quoted at the counter before we start. These are the jobs we do most.
Heel tip replacement$12
Full rubber sole (pair)$45
Half-sole + heel (pair)$60
Boot zipper replacement$35
Leather conditioning & polish$15
House key cut$4
Car key cut (standard)$12
High-security / chipped keyfrom $25
Hours
Monday9:00 – 6:30
Tuesday9:00 – 6:30
Wednesday9:00 – 6:30
Thursday9:00 – 7:00
Friday9:00 – 6:30
Saturday10:00 – 5:00
Sundayclosed
Closed Sundays and statutory holidays. Keys are cut all day; shoe repairs are usually 3–5 business days depending on the job.
About the desk
Our father opened the shop in 1987 with one bench, a second-hand sole press, and a sign he painted himself. He had learned the trade in a cobblers' workshop back home, and he brought that patience with him. My sister and I grew up behind this counter — counting change, sorting keys, learning which glue went where.
Today the shop is mine, but the bench is still his, and the rules are still the ones he set: quote the price before you start, never rush a stitch, and if a shoe can be saved, save it. We have customers who first came in as kids getting their school shoes stretched, and now bring their own kids' boots in for the same fix.
We cut keys for the whole neighbourhood — the building superintendents, the landlords, the students who lose their mailbox key every semester. We keep a drawer of blanks for buildings that have been here since before the subway, and we know which ones are a pain to cut.
"If it's worth wearing, it's worth repairing."
Find us
4885 Yonge Street, Unit 4
North York, Toronto, ON M2N 5X3
Ground floor of the brick building just north of Sheppard, across from the bus terminal. Entrance on Yonge, up two steps, look for the blue-and-yellow sign.
Give us a call before you haul a heavy bag of boots across town: (416) 222-1234
Send us a note
Tell us what needs fixing and roughly when you'd like it done. We'll reply with a ballpark price and a pickup date.