Alexander’s Shoe Repair

Good quality, but more expensive than I was expecting

There is no other shoe repair shop in San Francisco as good as Alexander’s

…service and attitude depends on phase of the moon… left a job there that he couldn’t admit was over his head… checked in every 30 days… for six months… final result… so, so…
let’s see how current job goes… i’m a gluten for punishment…

Great service and craftsmanship, I love this place. No frills but quality people. The kind of neighborhood shop you hope stays around forever!

I’ve been here twice, and I simply have nothing good to say. He manhandled white silk wedding shoes with dirty hands. He put sneaker soles on dress shoes. Why do people like this guy?
And now he just broke the heel tip on the $ 400 European ballroom dancing shoes.
Don’t take any shoes you care about here!!!

I went in to have my nearly new belt shortened. He was nice and it only took an hour but when I picked up the belt it had a huge scratch that he claimed he didn’t make. I asked him to buff it out or fix it but it didn’t do much. Not recommended.

They did a great job resoling my Wolverine 1000 Mile boots. Definitely call them to make sure that the boots will be done on time, but they have a great attitude and provide good service so definitely go here if you’re not in a rush.

I went to Alexander’s to get a zipper replaced on a boot. And I paid $ 25. The person there seemed a little unfriendly, but I wouldn’t have mind if they had done a great job. Bottom line is, I won’t be going back there for the following reasons:
1. They didn’t call me when the repair was done like promised. And they were very unhelpful when I called to check.
2. The quality of the work left a lot to desire. The first thing I noticed was that they used a light tan thread when the rest of the boot had a brown/​light brown thread. The difference is really noticeable. Later on, I also noticed that the new zipper doesn’t go all the way to the top. This stands out less, but since I only got the right boot repaired, it’s obvious when you put it against the left.
If I had settled for a bargain or a rushed job, I wouldn’t complain. But that was not the case. I would not recommend Alexander’s to anyone who is a perfectionist like myself.
It guess at least they are wearable, which is better than nothing.

So here’s my experience. I took in two pairs of shoes on a Saturday. One for replacing heels and one for gluing the one of the soles, 20 $ and 5 $ respectively, ready in one week, according to the owner. I went back a week later and my shoes were not ready — I found them in a pile of shoes on the floor, unlabeled. The owner said he would have them ready by Thursday. So I agreed and went back in another week after. The pair that needed heel replacement was not ready. The other pair took 10 minutes of searching throughout the store to find, and it was indeed ready. I told the owner I will just pick up both pairs and go. He tried to charge me $ 10 for the second pair, and I had to argue that that’s a different price than what he quoted initially. I ended up paying 5 $.
Long story short, not ready the first time, not ready the second time, and an attempt to overcharge.

I came in with a broken heel on my brand new Vince Camuto sling backs.
The man (I believe his name is Nicholas) was extremely kind and complimentary. He took one look at my shoe and with his knowledgeable eye, he knew the holes for the screws were too large and that was why the shoe fell apart. He told me it was an easy fix and would have them repaired and ready for me within 4 days.
Like other Unilocalers I noticed the disarray of the store but I’ve come to understand that sometimes, someone else’s methods of organization don’t always make sense to everyone else. I figure as long as he does the job well, I don’t really care if the small store is a bit cluttered and has a messy appearance. Considering that I was greeted with a warm smile by someone who is confident in his craft and appears to be happy in his profession, I felt comfortable knowing my shoes were in his care. The customer before me left very happy and I feel confident that I will too when I come pick up my shoes. I’ll update my review later if I run into any hiccups.

I would easily give this place 5 stars if he was a bit more organized. That to me is probably the only negative. The man that owns the place and does all the work is super sweet and adorable. I’ve come here twice and absolutely love his work, and for a GREAT price! seriously!!! This most recent time I had to get 2 boots resoled and heel added and what I paid was less then buying a new pair. Plus my boots came back looking brand new! He had me call before I came in to make sure he had my boots, and the first time I tried calling, no one answered (no biggie it was a saturday), then I called the following Tuesday and he couldn’t find my boots (again understandable, the place is a bit choatic with him repairing so many shoes by himself). Finally, 2 weeks after having brought them in, I called and he found them and I came right on in. 4 stars for the quality of his work (actually I would give it 10 stars) minus one star for being on the unorganized side.
Moral of the story, if you don’t mind having to wait a bit for shoes to be repaired back to almost new and for a great price THIS IS THE PLACE TO COME!

Despite a few negative reviews, I decided to try the shop out because it’s so close to my place. So glad I did because they did a great job on my boots. A few things that probably helped… I took a photo of the shoes to help them find it. I wasn’t in a hurry and came to pick up a week after he said they were going to be done. No stress, easy peasy. The shoes were polished to a great color and the heels were perfect. All of this done for a fraction of what they charge downtown. I’m definitely coming back again.

Really sweet family owned biz. Dropped in to have the clip portion of my cherished leather work bag looked at/​fixed and he repaired it in less than 60 seconds — refusing to take my $. I’ll be back for every repair right here.

Nicholas does a good quality job for a fair price. Yes, the shop is old, disorganized, dusty … but he’s cheerful, does good work, and has never lost anything I’ve brought him in the 15+ years I’ve been using him — perhaps 30 different orders from belt dying to luggage zippers to shoe soles or eyelets. if you want a Noe Valley or Union Square shoe repair shop — go there. But Nicholas’ Mission Street Alexander’s Shoe Repair is great if you’re not in a hurry. Give him a couple of weeks. Or a few.

Rio in another review said it best, «past perfection, on a dime.»
Yeah the shop is crowed and messy and the repair may not be done on time.
But this a man doing shoe repair 5+ days a week completely by hand, in a 50+ year old shop! Surprised it hasn’t been turned into a restaurant or condos yet.
One if the last true shoe repair shops where you can get a full resole on a leather shoe or boot. None of that glued on rubber sole junk.
I’ve gone to many shoe shops in the 12 years I have lived in SF. In the last five years I’ve only gone to Alexander’s, taken many pairs of shoes mens & women’s, modern & vintage (40s/​50s/​60s) here
in the last five years. Always a great job done!
Side note– I was referred to Alexander’s by a friend that grew up in Bernal 30 years ago and now drives from Vallejo to visit this shop!

I am totally taking an excerpt from Laura’s review (way below) and mixing it with Joe’s (from 7÷16÷13)
Good price, nice guy running the place… although it’s disorganized, he gets the job done. I had about 2 pairs of boots re-​heeled/​re-​doled and i only had a problem with one of them.
Just be warned, I think that he asked me to come back and help him look each time… but i had time so it was ok.
I will def go back. He reglued an sole insert for my loafer free even prior to dropping my boots off.

I called the store before driving over to make sure I can have my boots stretched in the shaft. The person on the phone told me yes. When I came in there was a man in the store, he ignored me for 10 minutes despite my greetings, and then asked me what I wanted.
He has a huge attitude like I interrupted him during his business hours. I showed him what I wanted done and he just shook his head and went back to doing what he was doing.
I do not recommend this shop to anyone.

Unreliable and disorganized.
Two weeks after bringing our items … work had still not started. Our items were sitting exactly where we left them. Then he decided to go on vacation. When he got back our items were again exactly where we left them. He was backlogged and in a grumpy mood.
I found a much better leather repair place in Noe Valley.

Had a terrible experience here — so terrible that I decided to write my first Unilocal review! I dropped my boots off on a Tuesday to get a new zipper put in and was told to come back on Saturday to pick them up. When I showed up on Saturday not only were my boots not fixed, but they could not find where my boots were and I had to search the whole store to help find them. I was told to come back on Tuesday and he promised to have them done and he would be there until 7 for me to pick them up. I showed up at 6 and the shop was closed. Came back now for the third time on Wednesday and they were still not done! The boots were sitting just where I had left them. He also does not stick to the hours posted — he opens late and closes early without any notice.
The owner gave me some big roundabout story full of excuses about how busy he was, yadda yadda, and did not apologize once. I left with my unfixed boots and will be taking them elsewhere. The lack of organization and professionalism was horrible. Do not go here under any circumstances!!!

Disorganized, but good work at a good price.
Many Mission district shoe repair places are disorganized. Alexander’s is no exception. But, in the end, does not seem to be the worst offender. The owner did a reasonable job fixing a pair of shows.
I moved from another Mission repair place do to extreme disorganization and tried Alexander’s instead. During one repair, two problems:
1) Was told to return on a day when the shop was closed due to holiday.
2) Lost my shows before repairing them. I helped search the store and we found the shoes. He then fixed them.
The experience didn’t enhance my confidence, but the end result was fine. I would return for a second chance.
But, what’s with the lack of organization?