Roman’s Expert Leather Tailoring and Shoe Repair

He’s okay. Nothing really special. I live in Ditmas Park and thought this shoe repair guy would be way more better than the ones in my hood because everything seems to be better quality in Windsor Terrace… the bagels, the meat market, etc. and I love shopping for shoes at Windsor Shoes down the street. His place is really messy. I brought some 5 year old Born leather boots. The leather part is in great condition, so I came here so he can change the bottom soles. He charged $ 40 to change the entire bottom rubber sole and the heel. He said to come back in 2 weeks. He said everything would be cleaned and polished and like new. I showed up 3 weeks later with my ticket. And he immediately said «they’re not ready.» I told him I came 1 week later than he asked me. And he said okay let me look. He searched every bag in his shop for about 15 minutes. Turns out he put someone else’s tag on my shoes. WTF? I was relieved when he finally found them. But when he handed them to me they were not cleans or polished. I told him and he immediately started to clean and polish them. By the way the inside sole was never changed at all either… I would think it’s a complete service, but I just wanted to leave. You would think 3 weeks later, my shoes would be ready to be picked up. Next time, I’ll save myself a trip and stick to someone nearby. But I know he means well, but he’s just very DISORGANIZED!

I love this place. He always shoots straight and will only fix things if they absolutely need it. I asked him to fix an instrument case and instead of replacing a $ 50 zipper he repaired it and charged me 2 bucks. Another time my wife brought in some sandals to be repaired and he told her that they were junk and to throw them away. We insisted so he reluctantly repaired them beautifully. I just love his honesty and workmanship. I certainly understand he’s a bit eccentric but well worth it!

First of all, I’m not sure he understand a word I say when I talk to him. I walk in asking for a few pairs to be cleaned and he stared at me like I was an Alien. He stares at me alot like he doesn’t know what I’m saying and is far from polite. Considering his store is an absolute disaster, I would think the customer service would at least be there.
He then went back and forth whether he’d be able to actually clean my boots or not. I tell him I can take them back if he doesn’t think he can do it. He finally decides he can and I turn over 3 pairs of boots for cleaning.
Flash forward to when I pick them up, and he absolutely trashed them! I Two pairs were unfixable and one I took somewhere else paying another $ 25 to try to repair the damage he did. He tells me that he doesn’t clean them because it’s difficult, but he never told me this when I brought them into him! I could have saved myself so much money by not taking them in at all or if he would have just told me he doesn’t do this instead of pretending that he could, ruining them and then taking no blame for it.

Expert workmanship, highest quality. He does not speak English well, so be careful what you ask for, note schedule, as he does not post fon #
CLOSED Saturday. Pick up promptly, as he is not the best storage facility!

Roman is a world class jerk. In short, we dropped off a pair of boots to get repaired, went back a week later with the ticket in hand to pick them up, only to discover that Roman had misplaced the boots. Okay, fine, just give him some time and he’ll look around and find them, right? Wrong! You see, Roman was absolutely convinced that we already picked them up and refused to put any effort into searching his pig stuy of a store to find them. He even went as far as suggesting that my wife was flat out lying to him and that he’ll get a video from his landlord to prove it. Well, Roman, after stopping by three days in a row to suggest that you actually look for the boots, you finally decided that perhaps my wife really was telling the truth and didn’t just like to hang out in shoe repair stores as a hobby, so you did what we had asked of you all along — you looked for them. And low and behold, Roman found the boots. There aren’t enough apologies in the world for your terrible manners and the disrespect you show for your customers, Mr. Roman.

Fantastic value and incredibly helpful. Really well done soles. It’s well worth going out of your way to see this guy — best in Brooklyn I’ve found!

I had a leather bag that had a strap attached to the bag by a button! It was a disaster carrying it around as the strap would constantly unhook itself. It was a $ 200 bag and I couldn’t really wear it. I came here and they were able to stitch the semi thick strap to the bag. It took a few days and it was a nice job.

Super sweet and quaint. Everything’s done by hand and on paper without a tracking system, so it took a few minutes to find my shoes, but he did.

I read the reviews on Roman’s and wonder if we are talking about the same place. I have had two bad experiences with him. A few years ago, I went there to have a pair of ballet flats resoled. He put such an inflexible, hard sole on it that the shoes fell off my feet when I walked. When I complained, he was extremely rude and refused to admit any blame. He said that these were the only soles he carried. I had to throw out the shoes.
Today, I went to him for an emergency repair of a half boot brace I was wearing to stabilize a foot fracture. Part of the rubber sole had broken off and I hobbled in to ask if there was anything he could do to fix it as an alternative to my buying a new pair for $ 200. I was surprised how nasty he was. He wouldn’t acknowledge me when I walked into the store, barely looked at me when I tried to show him what the problem was, and kept saying he was «too busy, too busy.» When I asked whether there was a better time to come in, he said, «Next week, maybe.»
I don’t know what to think. Is he the expert repairman that people say he is? is he too arrogant for the neighborhood? does he hate Asians?

Yes. Great quality work. The best I know of in the area, and I am a shoemaker. I also know he refuses work that he doesn’t think will do any good… doesn’t just take your money and do a crap job. The coolest thing is… and I was amazed to see it… he uses what we call an «american straight needle» to put the sole on BY HAND!!!
Guy’s good. But I don’t think his name is Roman… I think that was the old guy that retired back in the 90s. Anyways

Wow. Absolutely take your shoes here. I brought a brand new pair of Frye boots here to have protective rubber soles put on them, and although it took a week, the work is incredible and was a reasonable price. Roman is incredibly kind and even gave me a few tips on how to take care of my boots so that they last longer!

Roman has completely rebuilt two sets of shoes for me. Great work, excellent prices. the catch… the wait. He’s very popular and has a back log for more serious repair.

You simply cannot do better than this. I love taking my shoes here. The only thing I feel bad about is that the guy does such a good job, I don’t have to go back to him very often!
I just had two pairs of shoes re-​soled and even though they were kind of beat up, when I got them back, they looked almost brand new. I’ve had several pairs of shoes re-​soled here over the years and I’ve been able to get fast, professional and affordable service. He was half the price of what I was quoted at a place near the Chrysler Building in Manhattan.
Nice guy, great business. Please support this local merchant.

Think Unilocal has a good system to filter reviews? I don’ t think so. I was the first person to write a review for this shoe repair shop because it’s a sound business. I even created the listing since it didn’t exist! I didn’t receive any money for doing it. Yet the review has been filtered for years.
George, the proprietor, is an excellent craftsman with very affordable prices. He’s done several kinds of repairs for me. He put new Vibram soles on a pair of work boots, fixed the heels and added taps to a pair of dress shoes, and put new soles on a pair of wingtips. He did everything with a high degree of skill and used good quality materials. This kind of work is a real rarity in an age of disposable goods.
He also fixes handbags, briefcases, and other leather goods. Usually he’s open M-​F and Sunday. He’s located right next to the Prospect Park/​15^th Street stop on the F line (the Windsor exit.)