Jack’s Shoe Repair

How could this place possibly be better? The owner is a true craftsman; he does amazing work. The prices are great. The turnaround is fast. You simply can’t get this sort of work done at this price other places. He fixed a hole in my Frye boots, and put new heels on them. He even restitched the pull tab, which had ripped apart and which I thought was not repairable! This weekend my sister was in town and brought a pair of boots with holes in the heels to him. He leveled the heels where she’d worn past the rubber sole, and then put new rubber soles on, all for $ 16. I’m going to bring this guy all the boots I have as they wear out, and you should too.

After getting an estimate from a Manhattan shoe repair place close to work, for which I would have gotten new shoes, I found Jack’s close to home and just picked up repaired shoes today. New sole and new heels on my leather boots and repaired sole on another. Very reasonably priced and great work — will take everything to him from now on! Highly recommended!

Jack’s is as good as it gets. His shop is dirty, lined floor to ceiling with bags and boxes of shoes, he has a punch register and he’s old school in all the best kinds of ways. I honestly have no idea what people are talking about with negative reviews. He has saved my shoes at least 4 times now. Last week when I stained my expensive pink suede pumps the first time wearing them (with oil grease) I could have screamed. On the way home I drove straight to Jack’s. Got them back today almost as good as new, stains completely lifted. He’s a miracle worker. Best part, no charge! Just a smile and have a nice day. The kind of customer service that will always keep me coming back. His prices are reasonable and I trust him with everything. He will tell you up front what it’ll cost, I’ve never had to ask. This store is an Astoria gem.

For a girl, trusting someone with your shoes is like trusting someone with your hair! Sweetest man, fantastic prices, and always a job well done! Also, usually a 2 day turn around!

This man knows how to ressurect a shoe! A proud customer for over 5 years. Jack’s name is on the sign and he is the man doing the hard labor. Prices are fair and the turnaround is excellent. Highly recommend a visit. Tip: don’t lose your ticket!

I was looking for an inexpensive shoe repair for basic heel tip repair. There was no warm welcome when I entered Jack’s, but I probably spent about 10 minutes combined picking up and dropping off my shoes. I’m also really happy with the price — $ 7 for a pair of heels. I did have to come back 3 days later for my shoes. Overall an inexpensive cheap, fast, no-​nonsense shoe repair.

Jack is everything a small business owner should be. Kind, cares about the neighborhood, great at what he does, and he’s not trying to rip anybody off. You won’t find a better shoe repair shop.

Fast, Inexpensive, Great Quality, and Great Service! All star.
I went to my usual cobbler at Madison Square park to fix my boots and they were trying to charge me $ 100! I bought the boots for $ 40 bucks vintage so obviously that has a heck no.
So I took them to Jack’s and he hooked me up with new soles in two days for soooo much cheaper. He even polished them and threw in new gel soles in the inside.
Switching to Jack’s forever on.

I’ve read the other reviews and I think I can help…
Think of your visit to Jack’s shoe repair like a visit to the Soup Nazi (for all you Seinfeld fans)…He will deliver, but you may not like the messenger.
Yes, he does great work. Yes, he will charge you reasonable prices. No, he will not deliver small talk, a smile, or great customer service. Honestly though, do you need that when you can drop off your shoes, pay the man, and know you’re getting them back looking good? Just don’t mess with the craftsman, and keep it simple.
Tips:
Drop off your shoes, Be specific about what you want. ASK for a price upfront to avoid any miscommunication later. Jack doesn’t feel the need to talk money when you drop off but every time I ask for a price quote he gives me one and things are all settled before I leave the shop. All is good.

Great work! Dropped off two sets of boots. Jack did the heels on both, and rubber soles on one for 28 bucks — a great price and they look fantastic. I will definitely be back.

Jack is great. His work is great. He’s old school — an a little rough around the edges — but his attention to detail and his craftsmanship is second to none.
I have a problem with one leg, so my shoes wear out very differently. Jack not only balances them out for me – soles, heels, whatever he thinks is necessary. But he also catches issues before I do.
Definitely the place to go – whether you need a shine, a sole, a heel, a lift, or a rebuild. I’ve done them all on everyday shoes and real expensive Bruno Magli’s — and the result is the same every time.
Impeccable.

Jack always does a beautiful job on my shoes. His repairs are well crafted with a beautiful aesthetic.
I have had heels retacked and shoes resoled. Most recently I dropped off a favorite pair of Reef sandals that has an elastic strap around the heel. The elastic broke after one summer. Jack repaired them by matching the original color of the brown leather covering the elastic, put in a new strap and both glued and hand sewed it back together. It feels sturdier than when it came off the rack from Reef. He matched the color so well you would never know he replaced the strap. Just one example of why he gets a 5 star rating!
(And did I mention it only costs $ 6!)

Patience goes a long way at Jack’s, where good craftmanship and honesty are the stars of the show. The place is really tight and kind of grungy, with soot, yellow plastic bags, and the smell of polish thick in the air. He’s a good guy and the prices are right. My fiancé brings his shoes here all the time and really appreciates how much work Jack puts into them.

Brought in a lot of shoes this week for fixing. Fixed up my Jimmy Choos and Fryes nice. If you are really concerned about your shoes getting ruined, just tell Jack they are expensive or precious. Generally he’ll take care of it well, but I it’ll give him a hint to put just a bit more care into it .
Brought in my busted Hunters and he could’ve easily fixed the worn bottom sole, but he was nice enough to tell me it wasn’t worth fixing. He pointed out some hidden cracks that I missed.
He’s honest and straightforward. Prices seem like they’ve gone up, but if you need someone local to fix your shoes for a reasonable price, go to Jack’s.

Ugh, don’t go here! I stopped by this morning to get my boot zipper repaired and the guy was trying to charge me $ 17 for it, even though 3 months ago, he charged me $ 10! When I told him that he only charged me $ 10, he started yelling at me! I asked him if he wanted business, because if he did, it’s not polite to yell at me when I’m only trying to explain the situation. He yells and says «I want business, but no way would I charge $ 10, six months ago.» I tell him that’s fine, but there’s no need to yell. Guess what he does next? He yells «I don’t want your business,» and THROWS (not push towards me, but THROWS) my boot.
WTF?! How incredibly rude! And I’m a very positive and understanding person, but this was ridiculous! Here I am, passing by his store every day, feeling bad for him because he seems to always work late…
Now I see why he’s always at his store — no one can stand to be around him with his nastiness!

Cash only
29^th st. And broadway — looks closed but is open 7a-6:30 Mon — Fri. Sat, 7a-​6p. Closed Sun. Heel $ 6 in 20 min! Very happy!

I have a pair of men’s dress shoes which retailed at about $ 150 and are really comfortable. But time has taken its toll and now i had to make a decision to buy new ones or do a half sole and heel repair. The prices quoted to me from shops in Manhattan ranged from $ 60 to $ 100. That was too rich for my blood and I’d rather put it to new shoes. But then i decided to check Unilocal for a place in Queens which would have less overhead and probably translate to lower prices. When I called and Jack (i assume that’s his name) quoted me $ 32 for a leather half sole replacement with rubber heel, i jumped on it…
So i stopped by Jack’s last month and it’s pretty large store for a one-​man show. It’s also kinda cluttered, but I guess that’s how old man «Jack» has done it for over 20+ years in the business. I told him what i needed and he told me to come back in 3 days and it would be done…
A few weeks pass and I read Jasmine L’s review about how her poor shoes were ruined. I wasn’t too concerned with the shoes I brought in because they were far from new and I just fixed them for its comfort as casual dressy sh*t-kickers. But I did have a pair of mint $ 300+ dress shoes which required the insoles to be glued down as they were flapping around. I was concerned, but brought them in anyways for Jack to repair…
On Saturday i decided to pick up my shoes. Jack had thrown them in a black nondescript plastic bag where each shoe’s topside were rubbing against each other. That’s certainly not good for shoes, but i really didn’t care as mentioned before. I then brought out my expensive dress shoes which had shoetrees and in its own cotton shoe bag with separate compartments. I asked him to glue down the insoles and he did so on the spot. I asked him how much and he said $ 33 for the first pair and free of charge for the glue-​down on the second pair. I was OK with that and gave him $ 35…
As for the quality of the repairs,
1. worn $ 150 dress shoes: I was OK with the repair because it only cost me $ 32 — $ 33~! But I did notice a few things:
a. the rubber heel has gaps at the mount point which needs to be blended in:
b. the side of the heel needs to be smoothed out:
c. bumps on the edge:
2. mint $ 300+ dress shoes: The repair was fine as it was easy.
Here are some of my tips with Jack:
1. bring your shoes with shoetrees: let him know you value your shoes
2. bring your shoes in a shoe-​bag: if you don’t, they’re getting thrown into a plastic bag
3. let him know to be careful
Summary: Although Jack’s detail might be a bit off, his prices are excellent. I’ll probably go back to ask him to fix the edges on all the issues mentioned and I don’t think he’ll give me a problem. If he does fix the errors, I’ll give him 4 stars. As for really expensive shoe repairs, I’d be a little bit worried. But you can prevent being in the situation by:
1. wearing something else for the daily grind which are nice, but not your best pair
2. add taps on the tip of the half sole and heel
3. replace taps before it’s too late!
4. don’t wear nice shoes to the bar or club as it’s bound to get trampled on
Now go reassess your shoe situation and do something about it~!

I came here after stumbling upon rave reviews from Unilocal.
Although this place offers phenomenal pricing, it’s not worth it. I brought in a couple of pairs of shoes to stretch and to add soles onto. Seems easy enough, right? Well, guess what? My $ 450 shoes has glue marks ALL OVER the shoe (all I wanted to do was to topy it)! It’s suede, so I have no idea how to remove it! It was immaculate when I brought it to his store (it’s brand new), and now it looks like I’ve had it for YEARS. The sole also has glue everywhere.
More-​so, although I do know that the bottom has to be scraped in order to attach a rubber sole on (he uses the Goodyear brand by the way), there’s an indentation between the rubber sole and the middle of the shoe. It seems like he scraped off more than he was supposed to. It’s so disheartening to even look at them now. In addition, my other pair of $ 200 shoes is patent leather. I just wanted it to be stretched, and now it has scratches on it! It’s like someone scraped his fingernails or some kind of machine device on it. Also, the last pair of shoes that I brought to be stretched is sticky inside. I have no idea why. It’s probably from some solution that he used.
Anyways, PLEASE do not go if you have expensive shoes. It’ll save you the heartbreak. However, if you have less expensive shoes (less than $ 100), you should. He does have really great prices (I guess that saying, «You get what you paid for» is true in this case), and he really is a nice man. Go at your own risk.

I came here after scouring Unilocal and I must say I was super impressed.
This guy is old school. Reminds of the shoe repair place I used to go to when I lived in Italy. I had two pairs — one pair of cheap boots that needed a new sole and one pair of nice boots whose heels had been torn up after years of cobblestone. He took one look at my cheapies and was honest about what he needed to do and proceeded to tell me it wasn’t worth what he’d have to charge me. I could have paid $ 30 and he would have fixed them, but I decided not to waste his time and buy myself some new boots.
For the nice leather boots, he gave me three options of how they could be fixed. I settled for the most expensive and lengthiest one, at $ 20 — he took the old heels out, put new ones in and did whatever he does to make them look nice and shiny. He was honest about time/​work/​value. I peeked my head in about a day before I was supposed to come, just in case, and they were ready. He had shined and buffed them for me, too, after explaining what he did. Good man. I hope he has an apprentice!
He means business, but he;s not unfriendly. Don’t lose your ticket — his filing system looks a little complex! Bummer about cash only.

There’s only one place to get your battered old shoes repaired in Astoria and that’s Jack’s.
Seriously old-​school and badass. When you walk in, remember, you’re walking into his world, his territory, his domain. Respect him and his rules, and he’ll take care of you like gold.
Jack’s is an institution. It’s small unassuming little shop on Broadway. Crammed with shoes in black plastic bags with yellow tags from floor to ceiling and there’s a certain old greasy shoe polish and leather smell in the air. Don’t lose the tag that Jack gives you because you’ll never get your shoes back any other way. He has way too many shoes from other Astorians, so you’ll never find your shoes without the tag.
He looks like a gruff shopkeeper, but he has a heart of gold. Doesn’t say a single unnecessary word to you, but don’t mistake it for rudeness. He’s pure business. I walked in and said hi, but except for the slightest flicker of his eyes, he didn’t acknowledge my existence. I knew he saw me. I knew he knew I was there. And I knew that as soon as he was able, he’d take care of me. I stood quietly and patiently waiting by the counter while he finished working on the shoes that he was busy repairing. When that work was done and could be put aside, he promptly came to me and looked at the shoes I had brought. I knew my babies were in good hands and that he’d fix them up. Less than a week later, my shoes were ready for me.
Not only does Jack do a great job in renewing your shoes’ life, but he’s DIRT CHEAP. CHEAP. Not «cheap for NY,» but CHEAP period. How often can you say that!