Leo’s Shoe & Leather Plus

Stopped in today to see how much it’d cost to repair a zipper on one of my $ 50 boots. The Mexican owner/​employee quoted me $ 25, which seemed pretty high. I countered for $ 15 (max I was wiling to pay), to which he replied «$ 20 cash». He said that the zipper alone will cost him $ 12 (total lie). I stood firm on my $ 15 offer, but he didn’t budge. I said «alright, thank you» and started leaving.
He rudely asked me: «Where are you from? Russia?». I’m of Ukrainian decent, born here in Chicago though. I said: «No, I’m Ukrainian», to which he proceeded to insult me: «Ah, all you people from over there (implying Eastern Europe) are the cheapest in the world». As I started walking out, he followed me outside, saying something about being Mexican, which I couldn’t understand. I smirked at him and said: «You get a lot of business around here by insulting your potential customers?»
Honestly, this kind of a rude behavior was pretty unexpected. Just because he didn’t get his way, the owner/​employee decided to insult me just to make himself feel better I guess. Pretty pathetic.

My experience with this shop was considerably different than the other reviewer, I brought two pairs of shoes in for a shine, and one of the employees immediately started to try and sell me on replacing the heel pads on both, pairs of shoes, one pair is only 10 months old and has never been worn outside. I’m not sure what the dynamics of this shop are, but when the other employee in the shop walked up, the guy who was helping me puts his finger over his mouth, as if he was trying to hide something.
They charge 10 dollars for a shine and when I went back to pickup my shoes they looked as if they maybe lightly buffed the toes and didn’t both with the rest of the shoe. The shoes still had scuffs on them and the sole edges were still dirty.
My advice is to stir clear of this place.

I stumbled across this shop on my way to lunch one day. I’ve been needing some shoe repair items and vowed to stop in soon. I finally did today and the gentleman that helped me couldn’t have been nicer and more accommodating. He helped me pick out what I needed and even threw in a couple free rags and a shoe brush as well! The shop was clean, well organized and spacious (for a shoe repair place). If you stop in they’ll offer you a 10% coupon off your services.
I plan to bring some purses and shoes here for repair before the winter and will update my review then. I’ll definitely be back though because great customer service goes a long way in my book.
Welcome to the neighborhood! Glad to have you.