At longtime Lynchburg cobbler shop, family members follow in each other’s footsteps

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Shoe and boot repair is a dying trade, which in recent years has brought increasing business to Ron Hawkins’ Cobblers Shop Inc. in Lynchburg.

Years ago, when a shoe repair shop in Bedford closed, Hawkins started repairing and shining shoes for longtime Virginia delegate Lacey Putney, Hawkins said. The shop gets business from well beyond Lynchburg, such as Fredericksburg or South Boston, when other shops close. People even mail in boots or shoes that need new soles or heels.

“The others are dying out, and nobody’s coming in to replace them,” Hawkins said.

Nodding to the back of the store where two of his sons were fixing shoes, he said, “If we could take these boys and clone them, we could go out and start a dozen shops.”

Hawkins’ father started a cobbler shop in Madison Heights about 60 years ago. It moved to downtown Lynchburg, then to The Plaza in the mid-1960s. Hawkins started running it in 1970.

The shop smells strongly of leather and shoe polish. In the front of the store, strips of masking tape on the shelves mark the prices of shoe-care items. In the back room, a loud machine runs constantly, turning a sanding belt and buffers.

Hawkins worked for Lynchburg Foundry before following in his father’s footsteps. One reason he and his wife took over the shop was so “we could raise the children and work the shoe shop at the same time,” he said.

All of their kids grew up in the shoe shop, hanging artwork and puzzles on the walls. They worked there off and on. Chris and David stayed with the trade, along with their sister Caroline, who died several years ago.

Now, Hawkins’ granddaughter Lauren works in the shop, too. In the back room, there is a table that she wrote her name on when she was young, first in print, and then in cursive later on.

In addition to other shops closing down, a few other factors help keep business strong. One factor could be the recession.

Hawkins said he’s heard that repair businesses see increased revenue when money gets tight, because people would rather repair what they have instead of buying something new.

Hawkins said the Cobbler Shop is in its busy season so it’s hard to say whether the slow economy is bringing him new customers. But it’s more obvious that business isn’t hurting.

Twelve-hour days have been the norm lately. The back room has dozens of bags full of repaired shoes waiting for pickup. Piles of other leather shoes and hunting boots are waiting to be worked on.

At the Alta Shoe Shop in Altavista, it’s a little more obvious that the national economy has people looking for ways to save money, said cobbler Charity Lambert.

Lambert has been fixing shoes in Altavista for over 20 years. She said she sees lots of new customers bringing their shoes in.

“You usually see it increase when the economy’s bad,” she said. “You usually see repair shops up. You’re not seeing too many people buying a car right now. (Like) putting tires on their car, they put tires on their shoes, too. It’s the same thing.”

“If they wear an Allen-Edmunds shoe, that shoe is a $380 shoe,” Lambert said. When a new sole and heel cost $36, “That’s right much savings.”

The price for repairs varies depending on what the shoes need. Hawkins picked up a pair of battered boots with cracked leather. He said they were bad enough off that most people wouldn’t want to fix them, but the customer was willing to pay $65 to have them fixed.

Another factor that helps keep business up is the number of people in the region who wear expensive shoes.

Hawkins said there are many lawyers, doctors and other professionals whose shoes are worth fixing. “All of them buy good stuff,” Hawkins said.

His Lynchburg shop also gets a lot of work from police officers and Babcock & Wilcox security guards who wear sturdy boots.

David Hawkins said expensive shoes are more comfortable and last longer, especially with occasional touch-up repairs. He was putting a new toe and heel on a burgundy leather women’s shoe that he has repaired before. The pair probably cost more than $100 new, and “she’s getting good wear out of them,” he said.

A third factor that helps business is reputation. Hawkins said word-of-mouth advertising has worked well, and doing a good job has kept his customers coming back.

“We’re fixing shoes for the grandchildren of the people we started doing this for,” he said.

Hawkins and his wife Phylis have watched The Plaza go from the hub of the city’s retail industry to a nearly empty shopping center, and now they are watching it on its way back up. Phylis Hawkins said she’s glad to see Centra Health’s new clinic coming into The Plaza. Some of the doctors and patients there could become new customers.

“All the Lord’s children over there are going to wear shoes,” she said.