Jim Daubenspeck holds an Asolo hiking shoe at his Laconia shop. He has a repair contract with the boot manufacturer. [Photo by Emily Reily, NH Business Review]
As Jim Daubenspeck points to shoes and boots awaiting rehabilitation, he ticks off the stories: a pair, which belonged to a late husband, that was chewed on by a dog; a pair of cowboy boots will be cleaned to take a place at the foot of its wearer’s casket; a pair of size 2 wedding shoes passed down for generations will take on new life as “something old.”
Even hikers will preserve the boots that helped them complete the more than 2,100 mile-long Appalachian Trail, says Daubenspeck, owner of Daub’s Cobbler Shop in Laconia.
“There are things that are crazy sentimental,” says Daubenspeck.
But money still talks.
“Everybody says it’s their favorite pair of shoes. Then when we give them a price to fix it, sometimes they say, ‘it’s not my favorite anymore.’ But they have memories behind them,” he says.
And there’s plenty of demand to preserve them, items from shoes to bomber jackets to belts to Christian Louboutins.
Regardless, Daubenspeck and a handful of other cobblers are proof that shoe repair is alive and kicking here.
Apart from smaller-scale shops, Daubenspeck knows just a few other full-time businesses in New Hampshire: United Shoe Repair in Concord, Rivtin’s Shoe Repair in Manchester, Gary’s Boot N’ Shoe in Nashua and The Hammer and the Last Shoe Repair in Hampton. Completely Heeled Shoe Repair is thriving in Salem, says its owner.
They’re part of a once-robust shoe repair industry that has been eroded by fast-fashion trends and a changing consumer culture that favored cheaper materials over fine leather goods and long-lasting construction.
Gary Hendricks, owner of Gary’s Boot’n Shoe Repair in Nashua, stands behind the counter at his shop.
[Photo by Emily Reily, NH Business Review]
Daubenspeck employs part-time employees — including some high school students — who he also trains. His son, Nate, says he may follow in his dad’s footsteps. Both recently traveled to Germany to learn from expert cobblers at Meindl, a hiking boot manufacturer.
Daubenspeck initially focused his business on dress-shoe repair. But once they purchased a sole press to repair hiking boots, business skyrocketed. He now has repair contracts with five high-end bootmakers: Asolo and Zamberlan, both in Italy; Peter Limmer and Sons, in Intervale; Meindl, in Germany; and Lowa, based in Bavaria, Germany.
His is the only shop on the East Coast that resoles Meindl boots — there’s just one other on the West Coast and one in Canada — and he’s the sole repair contractor listed on Lowa’s website.
“We are anticipating getting even busier,” Daubenspeck says.
D.J. Annicchiarico, owner of United Shoe Repair, says they’ve been the only one in Concord since 1998; before, there were about seven cobblers there. During the 1980s, their five full-time employees would focus on one aspect of the job: soles, sanding, finishing work or other tasks.
“We were really doing crazy, crazy amounts of repair at that point,” says Annicchiarico, who began learning at age 7 from his uncle and grandfather. Annicchiarico’s great-grandfather opened the shop.
But business declined in the early 1990s, part of a movement spurred by fast fashion — trendy clothing and shoes made with cheaper materials from stores like Payless — that kickstarted the downturn.
“Things became more replaceable, and people cared a little bit less about spending the extra money on a higher-quality pair of shoes,” says Annicchiarico.
These days, though, work has been “fantastic,” he says, adding: “It’s mostly because we’re one of the last few left.”
“I took over almost 20 years ago now, and we just had the two busiest November and December that I’ve had,” since taking ownership. He also provides on-the-job training for his employees.
“The more he’s learning, the more is falling off of my plate,” says Annicchiarico.
But even with the recent surge in his customer base, he isn’t fully hopeful about the future.
“I don’t see it rebounding to the point that it was in the ‘80s,” Annicchiarico says.
Sam Youssef, of Completely Heeled Shoe Repair in Salem, also acquired skills that were passed down through the generations. Yousef’s dad started making shoes at age 9 in Syria.
“A bad economy is good for this business. People are not buying new; they’re just fixing what they have,” says Yousef.
He’s more worried about the tariff situation in the U.S., as he gets glues, soles and heels from other countries.
“Two months from now, am I going to be paying the same that I’m paying right now for my supplies?” he asks.
At Gary’s Boot’n Shoe Repair in Nashua, customers are greeted by retail items like handbags, leggings and shoe polish. The shelves are lined with shoes; toward the back, machinery is stacked, assembly-line style.
Owner Gary Hendricks learned the trade as a youth from Charles Mazzuchelli in Natick, Mass., before opening his own shop. Hendricks, who sometimes serves customers with orthopedic needs, recalls how much shoe repairs used to cost.
“I made $7 a week. Back then, soles and heels were $4.50 on a man’s shoe. Today, it’s up around $80 to $100,” says Hendricks.
Hendricks was once the only authorized repair shop for Dansko, but eventually the high volume of work forced him to drop the account. And as the sole employee, there isn’t time to teach someone else the ropes.
“If you’re in this business, you never have to want for a job,” Hendricks adds.
Mark Cancelada, owner of Hammer and the Last Shoe Repair in Hampton, says they experienced an uptick in business around 2022, gaining customers through word of mouth. They often receive repairs for tall equestrian boots, which their long-arm sewing machine can handle with ease.
Cancelada says cobbler shops may be vanishing because people don’t even know that they’re around.
“They either never think about getting a shoe repair, or they just don’t realize there’s a shoe repair shop here, because they never really look for it,” says Cancelada, who often puts in 70-hour workweeks.
When Cancelada needed hospitalization a couple of years ago, Jim Daubenspeck reached out to offer his help.
“We look out for each other,” says Cancelada, agreeing with the others that it’s a small community here
His daughter, Emma, may one day take over the shop.
“Emma actually grew up with a shoe repair shop, so she pretty much knows it. She’s really good with her hands,” he says.
Zachary Hasbrouck, who bought Rivtin’s Shoe Repair in Manchester a couple of years ago, has mountains of repair orders for everything from boots to suitcases to a snowblower strap to boxing gloves. Since hiring a couple employees, he’s been able to shave off some of the workload, but the hours are long.
As there are no shoe repair trade schools and only scant few in the U.S., the knowledge is often passed down through generations, from master to apprentice. If that legacy fades, or a son or daughter chooses college instead, the cobbler business falters, they say.
“As shop owners retire or want to sell their businesses, they are having difficulty finding buyers. So, instead of passing along the business, it closes,” explains Mitch Lebovic, an administrator at the national trade organization Shoe Service of America (SSIA). Membership in SSIA, about 300 strong, consists of cobblers, manufacturers and importers of shoe repair products and wholesaler trading partners.
The number of lost cobbler businesses in New Hampshire can only be estimated, Lebovic says. Before World War II in the U.S., there were about 120,000 shops. Ten years ago, anywhere from 5,000 and 6,000 businesses existed. Today, around 3,000 to 3,500 shoe repair shops remain, though a healthy amount exists in Europe.
According to a 2024 economic analysis from New Hampshire Employment Security, over the last 10 years, the most popular apprenticeship programs lay in plumbing and interior electrician. Other top apprentice occupations include kindergarten teacher, medical assistant and nursing assistant.
The lack of schools in the U.S. may also contribute to the industry’s decline. Hendricks mentioned the Peter Bug Shoe Repair Academy in D.C.; Cancelada trained at a now-defunct shoe repair school in the Midwest.
It’s unclear whether the remaining cobblers are busy because there are fewer of them, or because people are seeking their services as a method of sustainability, but there’s not much time to debate the matter. Answering phone calls and emails and tracking orders on top of shoe repair keeps most cobblers hopping.
Daubenspeck credits social media with his recent rise in orders, and expects nearly 100 pairs of boot orders every month. His customers can also bring their ailing shoes to any Bootleggers location to be shipped to his shop, then returned to the store for pickup.
Though he often hears positive reinforcement from satisfied customers, there’s not much else he can do.
“How do we capitalize on that? I don’t have time to think about that,” Daubenspeck says.
But he is looking for more people to train. So far, he’s trained 17 people; many are younger people who found him by word of mouth or through social media.
Daubenspeck doesn’t expect the industry to fade completely, but does expect it to shrink further.
“We will always need more cobblers, but I think quality of work is what makes a difference,” says Daubenspeck.
He says the industry’s future lies in younger people interested in learning the craft.
“I love to teach. I like people that are motivated and like to learn. The only way we’re going to have a future with the industry is by finding young people that we can teach. If I get somebody who’s interested in opening a shop someday, that’s what I’m looking for. I want to help people succeed,” Daubenspeck adds.
Lebovic says shoe repair is still “viable,” adding that many SSIA members maintain healthy businesses.
“We seem to have reached a point where demand for shoe repair might be starting to outweigh supply. The industry has worked to expand the definition of what is repairable. Part of it is people becoming more conscious of their health, and, consequently, the role buying and maintaining quality footwear plays,” says Lebovic.
