Pelham Shoe Repair - Newton Centre, Massachusetts

May S.

The guy there was so rude, and did not want to hear what I wanted done. I brought in a pair of boots for a heel repair and reinforcement of the leather soles. He told me he doesn’t work on shoes without cleaning them, which would be fine, but he painted over the leather, and applied a clear coat even though I said I didn’t want it. He got angry with me for saying I want to continue to use saddle soap and conditioner on them. Don’t go here if you have any opinions on what’s done to your shoes. My leather soles now have stiff plastic glued to them, the heel repair looks terrible, it’s super lumpy and poorly painted, and now I have to figure out how to get a stiff waterproof coating I never wanted off of my boots. I paid $95 to be bullied and have my beautiful leather boots coated in plastic I made it clear I did not want.
How can I fix the heels I’m scared to go to a new person and have them further messed up

Edit to add: as soon as I got the ugly shoe polish off the toes I found out why he did it; the toe is covered in new circular scuffs, they were not there when I drop the shoes off 😓

Elena S.

Highly recommend! Saved me money by padding my heels instead of shortening them. Very helpful and good price.

Grace C.

I had a really really awful experience here when I came to pick up three pairs of shoes. The first pair (Gucci loafers) looked exactly the same as they did when I dropped them off (with dirt and all). The second pair (brown boots) were supposed to be stretched in the arch but were stretched in the wrong part of the boot, so the problem I asked them to solve was not addressed. There also is a new big scratch on them. The third pair (black boots) are essentially ruined at this point because they were stretched so poorly. I discussed my concerns with the owner, who quickly escalated to yelling at me and telling me I didn’t know what I was talking about. I have been to cobblers before so I can assure I know what to expect. He yelled at me to the extent that I started to tear up, then he began yelling at me for crying. They took my money ($80!) for two pairs of the shoes (as I cried) and I left the black boots hoping they could fix what they did. After collecting myself in the car, I returned to the store and they gave me my money and the boots back, telling me never to come back (which I certainly wouldn’t do anyway!). I’ve never been treated so poorly in this way. If he couldn’t do what I asked him to do, I would’ve preferred he tell me upfront to avoid this whole ordeal.

Steven P.

Let me preface by saying I NEVER write online reviews for anything. I had been putting off finding a cobbler for a while, but was very happy I eventually settled on Pelham Shoe Repair. I've had these LL Bean service boots by Chippewa for about 3 years now. After buying them, I learned that this particular boot was notorious for the toe caps coming unstitched. Sure enough, after about a year, the right toe cap needed to be fixed. I brought it to a cobbler in the South End that kind of butchered the repair, which made me nervous for anything in the future. Fast forward, eventually both toe caps came unstitched (again), the sole was beginning to split, and the boot itself was separating from the sole (I included one terribly cropped picture of the boot before). I finally brought them to Pelham. I went over everything with the gentleman that owned the shop, he was super nice, and very confidently told me, "I can fix anything." I was looking for something with a little better grip, so he recommended the Vibram lug sole. I was amazed when I got them back, the toe caps look as close to new as can be, the sole is great, and the welt job was fantastic. He also cleaned and oiled them, which was awesome. It all cost $125, which is very fair for all of the above, especially to extend the life of these boots. Definitely recommend.

Su D.

Absolutely top notch customer service and amazing work. All my eight pairs heels were repaired beautifully, love them even more than brand new. Thank you so much Richard👍

dani K.

Excellent repair skills and the most pleasant owners

Michael C.

Excellent workmanship and great customer service by a real artisan! Totally trustworthy, has told me “you can wear the shoe a bit more, then bring it in”

Laura B.

This is a lovely establishment. Husband and wife team running the show. I came in, asking for a zipper replacement for my boots - the kind gentleman behind the counter said "no, that would cost too much, I can hand-sew the zipper and it'll be fixed". Honesty! Thank you! I wish I had found this place sooner! I'll definitely be coming back and you should visit them too! 🙂