Johnny’s Ballard Shoe Service

I moved to Seattle recently from Chicago, but I had a regular cobbler there. I often resole and get my shoes repaired. I’m a regular. This place is not awesome.
He talked on the phone with a friend for 5 minutes while a line formed a foot in front of him talking. Quoted almost a month to do something simple to a pair of shoes and told me to throw another pair of boots in the garbage because he couldn’t fix them. And he was really unpleasant about the whole thing.
I went straight to a different place on the hill where both were fixed reasonably in just 2 days. All with a happy demeanor.
Meh. Meh. Meh.

I was a little concerned about taking my much loved Frye boots here to get the heel re-​soled after one of the rubber parts on the heel came off, but Johnny did an excellent job and got my boots back to me far faster than the other shops I called. Not only did he fix the heels, but he also shined my boots — they look great! Plan to take some other shoes here soon :)

Took me two years to find a real cobbler in Seattle. Won’t trust my shoes to anyone else. He treats my Timberlands and Louboutins with equal care — and he’s a wizard with belts and bags too. Absolutely the best. Fair, reasonable, meticulous –and super nice.

I really love businesses like this, old fashioned and honest, there seems to be so few around anymore. One time I brought some boots in with a broken zipper, the owner looked at the heels and saw that I had only worn them a few times and urged me to contact the company for a refund. I also love getting to see the sweet dog!

I won’t take my shoes anywhere else. Solid work, reasonable prices and great advice.
This is an old-​fashioned shop that has its own personality. It’s not Nordstrom’s. And that’s why I love it.

i have taken all my shoes to Johnny’s since around 2000. i resoled a pair a of leather dress shoes back in January. about three months later I was caught in pouring rain. I mean pouring rain. the soles came apart from the shoe the next day while drying at room temperature. i took them back to Johnny’s and told him what happened. a week later I stopped by to pick up my shoes. Johnny’s wouldn’t charge me.

This man is so incredibly rude and dismissive. No thank you.

Guy took care of a loved pair of shoes of mine and his dog greets you at the door! Johnny leaves a little to be admired with customer service but there’s no denying he knows his stuff haha

Rude service and twice as expensive as Swanson’s shoes in Wallingford. Don’t waste your time here.

Yay! I’m a fan. The people running the shop were kind and funny. The man did the job in the amount of time he said he would and stuck to the quoted price. So far, so good with my purse. Can’t complain!
There is a store dog and he (or she?) is rather cute. And they are cash only, so beware!

I love shopping local, but they’re only open three days a week, and cash only. There are more convenient options around… :-/

Terrible over the phone customer service. Note: When a potential is inquiring about a service you do try not respond with fast, one word responses. They will not be getting my business.

Amazing Craftsmanship! I have had them make repairs to a few pairs of shoes of mine the most recent was a pair of Allen Edmonds Wingtips, which I had them resole. When I picked them up I was SUPER Happy — the fine german sole he put on which was better than the original AE sole that was on the shoe (proven by the fact that I wore a hole in the sole after two years of occasional wear??). The work was really good and they shined the shoes nicely too. I have had them put new heels on a couple of shoes of mine and was equally happy. The only downside is that Ballard is kinda’ outta the way for me and that his hours are so limited.

Took some leather boots here for the first time to replace the heel. It took them about two weeks, but I thought the price (I believe it was $ 25 or so) was reasonable. I was completely happy with the service; I thought the owner was pretty funny. Cash only. I will use their services again soon for other boots!

I wanted to get my boots cleaned and waterproofed. I had worn them to the pumpkin patch. They were dirty, hence wanting to get them cleaned. I brought them in and said, «I need to get these cleaned.» The man at the counter responds, «Yeah, you think?» I thought he was attempting to be playfully, ironic. The next thing he said was, «Do you think you could, at least, knock the dirt off?» Then, I realized he was just being rude. My response was, «Thanks, I’ll just clean them myself.» Uh… I was willing to pay him to «knock the dirt off.»

Zero stars. Rude. As a former new yorker, I can handle and even appreciate a brisk manner, but I can clearly differentiate that from just a lousy attitude.

Not sure how this establishment is still in business. Was just charged $ 15 for a shoe shine with about as much disdain and surly customer service as I’ve ever experienced. Only reason I agreed to the shine is because we’re leaving for a wedding tonight and while out running errands I didn’t have time to shine them myself. A rip-​off with a lousy attitude… some way to run a business. If you need your shoes shined, go to Nordstrom’s and they’ll do it for $ 2.50 + tip and make ‘em shine a hell of a lot better. If you need your shoes repaired, go to Swanson’s where you know it’ll be done right and you won’t have to put up with this crank.

WTF? Have gone here for years and loved the place. Came in to pick up a jacket and a purse that I’d left there to get new zippers. He said, «They just needed a new pull, but I’m going to charge you for putting in 2 whole new zippers because I can». How much, I asked. $ 36!!! I asked him if he was kidding and he was not.
Maybe he needs new meds, maybe his shorts are too tight, maybe he’s just an asshole.

I keep forgetting to review this place, but last year I went in to see if my poor boots were savable. I take long strides (because I’m short) and land heavily on my heels so I’d worn down not just the sole, but much of the heel itself. After a friendly reproach about not being an idiot who wrecks their shoes (MY words, not theirs), they told me I could pick my boots up in a week. One week later, I waltzed in and found my lovelies as good as new, with a completely rebuilt heel and new soles. And the best part is that it was under $ 30, which seems awfully reasonable.
Anyway, I’ll definitely come back the next time I need shoe-​reconstructive surgery.

Frye Boots — if you ‘re not familiar with them let me tell you a bit. Full belting leather top stitched to a leather sole. I bought these boots in 2008 with every penny saved to be my sojourn boots. And they were. Not only that, they were my dancing boots and all-​day walking boots. So used and loved that that the sole was worn down and on one foot a layer of leather on the sole was torn.
My mistake — being in a rush and trusting they knew what they were doing.
Their mistake — removing the leather sole (and margin of leather used to top-​stitch the sole on) and putting on heavy duty rubber waffle stomped soles WITHOUT CALLING ME. THEN — when I mentioned they were leather soles, the owner played dumb. «They were?» Ahhh… really it’s kind of their thing. He says he’s been doing this 25 years and is brunt out. He burnt out my Frye boots. Heart breaking.
Changing the sole of a boot without a phone call is unconscionable. I can’t dance in these.
The guy’s attitude; meh. No big thing… not the place for a tender heart. But his whole spiel is about valuing the artwork of great shoes. The man just broke my paint brush.