KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Jim Subacz's family has been repairing shoes for more than 100 years, but now, he says it's time to say goodbye to the craft. It's a decision he says was not easy to make.
“I had one little lady in here, I don't know, three, four months ago, when she found out…she actually had to sit down and she was crying. It broke my heart,” Subacz told FOX 17.
3928 Portage Street has been home to Ed’s Repair Shop since 1965, when Subacz’s father bought the building. However, the family's love for repairing shoes started even before that.
“It started with my grandfather in Poland, back in the early 1900s. He took a course there to learn the trade and escaped Poland when the war broke out, came over here,” Subacz explained.
He said, from there, the talent has been passed down from one generation to the next.
Now that retirement is right around the corner, Jim says it's a sad occasion not only for his longtime customers, but also because it's a reminder the craft is disappearing.
"Trades, I think, you have to commit to it to be good at it," he said. "You've got to learn it inside out and I just don't think there's a lot of people who want to do that."
Between the long hours, the hard work and the knowledge it takes to repair shoes, Subacz said cobblers are becoming hard to find.
“You've got to know how to work on your own machines you have because the day of somebody coming in and fixing your machines, they're gone too. There's only a couple of guys that I know of if they're still doing it,” he told FOX 17.
He said the shoe repair industry experienced a rough patch during the 1980s when plastics and synthetic soles became popular. That's when he says more people were tossing out shoes versus getting them repaired; however, it didn’t last long, nor did it stop him from doing the job he’s good at.
“My dad always taught me that, number one, you treat your people good, you do the best job you can and if you can fix it, you fix it,” he said.
Although the industry brought a mix of ups and downs, he’s looking forward to the time he gets to spend with his wife, and he’s grateful to the people who have supported him over the years.
“I'm gonna miss the people. A lot of great people, lots of great people,” Subacz added.
His last day in the shop will be June 30— the same day he first started repairing shoes with his father 50 years ago.
