Roy’s Shoe Repair Bar

I have taken 3 pairs of shoes to Roy’s and I am satisfied with the work but he charges twice as much as most shoe repair stores. Furthermore on the best of days he is not very personable. The last pair of shoes I dropped off I expressed that the price he was charging for a lift repair ($ 25) was a bit steep. He was aggressive and indignant. I only left my shoes there because I was intimidated. I will never go back and I would not recommend his services.

Roy may have been having a bad day Grainne. I think he’s old school reticent, not unfriendly. I write because I take him horrifying battered old shoes all the time, and he smiles ruefully, and fixes them beautifully. My family has never had a bad experience, and we now have a third generation getting their well worn shoes fixed by Roy.
And it is a nice, tidy, shop. I recommend him highly.

I suppose I should preface this by explaining that I am probably not the target customer for a shoe repair bar in the Yorkville area. I wasn’t bringing a pair of Manolos or Jimmy Choos; I was bringing two pairs of mid heel Hush Puppies. They’re not fancy shoes but they’re both my adored work shoes. Dressy enough to go with a skirt but I can walk miles in them. One pair is pretty battered-​in fact I was spotted doing a bit of a DIY repair on them by a colleague who asked if I was really using a Sharpie on my shoes? Yes. Yes I was.
So, that preamble aside, I trotted into Roy’s with my battered shoes in hand wanting them reheeled. The opening hours (which include Saturdays) were a big selling point. Roy was civil enough, but not really friendly. He took my shoes and the payment in advance-​$ 14/​pair. He said they’d be a few days.
I called back to collect them and after watching him deal with another customer for a while, he called his assistant to get my shoes. The assistant found one pair in one of the drawers, then spent ages looking for the other pair which he eventually found on the counter between the repair area and shop. Almost as if they had just been done.
As for the reheeling? It was passable. There was a gap between the heels he attached and the heel of the shoe on both pairs. The heels are also wearing quickly. One of the heels twisted to an angle after a couple of wears. When I put on the other pair of shoes I noticed that they felt strange after a couple of steps and realised that the whole heel was coming off. I doubt that it was damaged in the shop; but nobody seemed to notice it when they were working on it.
So-​it was basically fine but not great. I don’t know if I just didn’t come across well and that was why I didn’t experience his charming side. Maybe my shoes were too crappy to spend a huge amount of time on. I don’t think I’ll be back though. I’m bringing my future repairs to my original shoe repair place-Gerry’s. (
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As much as a girl can love her high heels sometimes the concrete jungle can take it’s toll on our precious shoes. Enter Roy’s shoe repair to the rescue!
Located across from Bay Bloor Radio on the lower level of the Manulife Centre, this shoe repair boutique is headed by the septuagenarian Roy himself! He is a very charming fellow and word has it he’s even repaired shoes for the likes of Janet «Miss Jackson» if ya nasty! There is even an old school style polishing station inside of Roy’s for those Bay Street Suits who are in need of a shine.
I love that Roy’s place is so clean and proper as I can’t bear the thought of my Zanotti’s, McQueen’s and Alaia’s being kenneled with the likes of some ramshackle repair shop that suffocates its fixed specimens inside of a plastic bag only to be thrown into a dirty pile or locked into some sketchy closet never to be found upon my return to die a tragic shoe death by absorbing the smells of the other malodourous shoes. Yes, I have standards for my shoe care!
Everytime I’ve left a shoe to resole, to replace heel lifts or to surgically repair my subway grill casualties I can count on returning to Roy’s and finding my shoes pristinely made over.
So if you want to kick up your newly repaired heels and soles with pride come to Roy’s and make your love for your old shoes feel brand new!