Daniel Abruzzese’s best shoe-care advice? “Bring them to me,” he said.

On November 15, after a brief “retirement,” he opened Newtown Shoe Repair in Ricky’s shopping center, 71 South Main Street. “I’ve got to work; I’m used to work,” Mr Abruzzese said.

Years ago, Mr Abruzzese trained “Tony,” who had been in business in Newtown since 1992 at 43 South Main Street. That longtime shop in Newtown, well-liked in the community, closed in December of 2017 — owner Tony Paravalos had retired.

While Tony was a shoemaker who had studied at the Moderno School of Design in Athens as a young man, Mr Abruzzese, originally a brick-layer from the Bronx, grew up on Arthur Avenue. He had done work on the Twin Towers sometime in the late ‘60s, he said.

“Go up on the 110th floor in January — it was freezing with no windows yet,” he said.

His line of work meant he often needed his boots repaired, and in watching a cobbler work in his neighborhood, he soon became fascinated with the craft.

Moving to Connecticut with his wife, Adele, about 40 years ago, Mr Abruzzese opened a shop in Ridgefield, and eventually, “knew the whole town,” he said. At the time, in 1978, he had asked one resident what the town needed — a cobbler. He pursued the shoe-work because he “liked the craft,” he said. His wife added, “He likes restoring things to new.”

He closed his shop in Ridgefield about a year and a half ago, after more than 30 years, but is now back on the job in a spot he and his wife think is “perfect” for business.

Describing his retirement, he said, “You watch TV, fall asleep, get up, walk around,” and the routine got him thinking about working again.

The Abruzzeses, from Southbury, had looked in both Southbury and Newtown for a good location to start their business, and finally settled in Newtown, less than a mile away from Anthony’s Shoe Service, “Tony’s.”

A New Start

On Tuesday, November 26, during an afternoon at his new shop, he switched on his repair equipment, which started up with a loud hum. He took a leather sole and first smoothed its edges on one wheel, then moved on to polishing brushes.

In one corner stood a six-foot-tall, stitching machine from 1917, he said. He services and repairs the machines himself, and admitted that new equipment is expensive, and “most cobblers” have used equipment. When he had retired earlier in 2019, which only lasted several months, he had tried to sell his equipment to cobblers in Manhattan. “They told me they’re closing up, the rent is too high,” Mr Abruzzese said. So he, luckily, kept the equipment.

The cobbler enjoys his work. “Women come in with the red-bottomed shoes — $1,500 a pair; you don’t throw those away,” Mr Abruzzese said. Men’s boots could be made of snakeskin or ostrich at $500-$600 a pair, also valuable enough to repair. However, cobblers “are a dying breed,” he said. He knows of many mom-and-pop businesses that are closing because “rents are too high to make a living.”

Aside from shoes, he makes by hand dog collars, which could be of Louis Vuitton leather, salvaged from handbags, he said. He also makes belts and bracelets, and while he will repair riding boots, he does not make repairs to horse equipment.

Naming his most frequent repairs, Mr Abruzzese said, the “bottom of a high heel,” and men’s shoe soles and heels.

Several people stopped in around lunchtime. Resident Katie Spiro confessed she had lost her ticket in the wash but was in to pick up a boot repair. Mr Abruzzese stepped in back and retrieved Ms Spiro’s finished order. When driving down South Main Street, she said she was “so happy” to see his sign at the curb across the street from Carminuccio’s restaurant and is also pleased to have back the boots she had dropped off.

Reach Abruzzese at the shop, 203-491-2040. Business hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, closed Sunday and Monday.

The website, newtownshoerepair.com, states, “Since 1978, we’ve provided quality and convenient service. Our master cobbler has the experience and knowledge of the craft, we guarantee that your repairs are in good hands.”