Minas Shoe Repair

Everything you could ask for in a shoe repair shop: kind, considerate people making an honest living repairing shoes very well at reasonable prices. What’s not to love about that?

I’ve worked essentially across the street from these guys for the last six years now and after trying every other shoes shine and repair place in the area, there is simply no reason to go elsewhere.
I don’t go anywhere else for a shoe shine… unless it’s at Allan David with a full service. The guys (and gal) spend an inordinate amount of time shining up my shoes every time. The female shoe shiner is especially attentive. She usually takes a few extra minutes to make sure the shoe is shined perfectly.
As far as repairs are concerned, I guess I don’t know if it’s expensive or not, but if you’re wearing dress shoes every day that cost between $ 500-​$ 1K, paying $ 50 every couple of years to change the soles seems like a pretty good deal since Minas’ team can keep the leather looking new forever.
I have about 7 – 8 pairs of shoes in my rotation and have not purchased a new pair since 2010.
Also, I was getting a shoe shine when Jessica (the reviewer who gave a one star rating) was picking up her boots and heard he exchange. Yes it was probably unpleasant that she didn’t get her bootstrap, but she was offered a refund and refused it, striking out if the place. What a bunch of whinos…

It is HARD to find a really quality shoe repair place. Minas is the one you want to go to.
I can’t speak enough of the high quality of their work.
I had shoe work and handbag repairs done, and was BEYOND PLEASED with the results.
On top of their perfect work, a few extra bonuses:
–Great hours, including being open on Saturdays!
–Wonderful service, ask for Mena (pronounced «Meña»). She is an absolute sweetheart and will give you expert recommendations
Sample pricing:
–Protection: $ 35
–Single hook replacement on purse strap: $ 20
–Ripped handbag repair (see photos): $ 50
You pay a premium and it is worth every penny.
I can thank Minas enough for their great work and the relief I have knowing I can take my beloved shoes and handbags somewhere trusted!
PS. If you don’t believe me, or the other reviewers, Time Out New York also agrees:

I went in to get my bootstrap fixed. When I picked them up, not only was it not fixed, the bootstrap was missing! When I asked them where the bootstrap went, they claimed that I never came in with a bootstrap. I asked for a refund but in return they yelled at me and basically called me a liar.
I will definitely not be coming back to this place and will be taking my shoes somewhere where they don’t return worse than when they started off.
Unbelievable.

A few months ago, I brought my favorite pair of Dolce Vita booties to get fixed. They were in such bad shapes, soles worn out, insides scraped up, heel almost gone. For 50 bucks I got them looking like brand new. I’ve been getting so many compliments on them all fall.
Today I dropped off my dear over the knee leather boots for a zipper change and a heel restoring. 70 bucks. I can’t be happier as they’ll be done tomorrow.
In the end, you pay for the comfort of your shoe, and to keep something you love. What you get back is a shoe that’s been brought back to life. :)

They charging unresonable amount of money for the simple shoe repair! ! The owner of that very high price establishment is very RUDE !!
He will give you a price accordingly the brand of your shoes !!
. He told me , if you I can afford that kind of boots, I can afford his price for repair !!
! Even they are did sort of ok job with my boots just to deal with that unprofessional arrogantly rude old men was a one the worst experience.
I definitely having a problem to understand why SHOE REPAIR STORES IN NY have no competition at all !!!
!!

My favorite pair of boots repaired, cleaned and brought back to life in 15 minutes for $ 20. I lost the bottom of my boot heel which was plastic and made so much noise when I walked. They were quickly changed for durable, silent, rubber heels. So far they seem tough enough for these NYC streets.
I highly recommend Minas if you work in the area for all your shoe needs. I will definitely be back for future shoe repairs.

THE BEST.
THE ABSOLUTE BEST.
What more can be said? You do not need to bring your shoes anywhere else. Actually, DO bring your shoes anywhere else but here so I can have this amazing place all to myself! I kid, I kid. Seriously, this right here is THE best shoe repair place in the entire New York City, possibly the United States of America. This is the kind of place you count your lucky star because you finally found it after years and years of yearning for it and searching for it. I do not live or work near here, but I will not let anyone else take care of my shoes. Sometimes their work is sheer magic; most times they do merely fantastically. Always beautiful, meticulous work done on time. For a damn reasonable price at that. They have my loyalty as long as I live in this city. And I freakin’ *adore* the old man!
(And everyone else who works there, of course!)
So for an example, I have a pair of beat-​up-​to-​hell Frye motorcycle boots that I have had for way over a decade. Even though I have a shiny new pair that is exactly the same, I simply cannot seem to part with this pair because it is broken in JUST RIGHT, and I am just too damn attached to it. So I decided to have them fixed at Mina’s, of course, because literally nowhere else could pull it off. It’s HUGE amount of work– there are holes on front, soles need to be redone completely, basically anything you can think of, it needs to be done. I mean it is WORN. Homeless man might throw out these boots. I honestly did not expect much…
I almost fell backwards when I saw the result. The boots looked AMAZING!!! They looked *almost* brand new!!! I do NOT know how they pulled it off. I really don’t. And all for the price of $ 70! Just thinking about that memory makes me feel overwhelmed– and I am *not* kidding!!!
I seriously hope this place remains open as long as I live in the city– the old man *better* live forever! Have I mentioned he’s hilarious, btw? It is my dream to find a tailor this good, and a hair dresser this good… then my life would be set…
I love you, Mina’s!!!

I can’t say enough about how much I love this shop, the man, his family, the staff. Minas’ has rescued my favorite shoes from some pretty serious damage and they always return them shined, cleaned and better than I’d hoped. This is the ONLY shoe repair shop to visit in FiDi and I hope they’ll be open for many years to come.

If anyone is looking for the storefront it’s on Hanover street not Hanover square. Turn the corner after the Thomas Pink store and they’re right on the left hand side. Love these guys… don’t fret!

Brilliant job!
I brought some brand new boots in here to get rubber soles over top of the leather. I walked in and they said I could have it the same day (but I couldn’t get back before they closed) so they said it’d be ready the next day.
I came back and the boots were even nicer than when I dropped them off! The guys at Mina’s gave it a polish and fixed some scuffs that were on the heel without me having to ask and I walked out with the nicest pair of boots I’ve ever seen.
The rubber additions to the heel and sole cost $ 45 for the pair. I’m definitely going back here, they did a great job.

I reached rock bottom a few weeks ago.
Reverted to my freshman college days the other night. Lingered at a friend’s open bar birthday a wee-​bit too long. 3AM, had me stumbling to get out of the cab a block away from home. Cabbie’s screaming «GET OUT, GET OUT!!,» alright chief, I gotchu, I can hold my own, chill. I reach the sidewalk when suddenly, I can’t take it no more, five gigantic waves of Jose, Jack, Jame-​o surf outta me. Relief overwhelms instantly. but my NEW beloved DVF suede booties got in the line of grossfire!
After one week at Mina’s. my shoes look brand spankin’ new as before. $ 30 for the cleaning. WHATTA STEAL! Workers here are soooooo nice, from what I remember behind my shades and rosy red cheeks
Praise for Mina’s trumps any dignity I may have left over. If not for the excellent service and nice workers but for sheer guilt, I am a customer for life!

Note: Minas moved just around the corner from the old spot on Wall St to Hanover Sq.
I have a hard time getting rid of good shoes which are comfortable, so Minas and his family always take great care of my shoes and make them like new. Many a pair have been salvaged by them. Of the many places I have lived around the city, their work is the best and I highly recommend to come from near or far to get your shoes fixed here.

Thrifted three pairs of Allen Edmonds oxfords in varying condition. I’m just now learning about quality shoes as well as the care required to keep them in tip-​top shape for a lifetime. I came in and was greeted by a friendly old man who I assume is Mr. Minas who quickly took hold of my shoes, arched an eyebrow, and told me what needed to be done to make each shoe «as good as new… veeerrrrry good.» He took out his chalk pencil and drew little circles around the imperfections and took the time to explain what needed to be done to each individual shoe. «Come back sometime next week» he told me, as I mentioned I was in no particular hurry.
Fast forward four days later, I stop by the shop in the morning (great early morning hours) and pick up the shoes. Wow. Super impressed. Really «as good as new.» He even replaced the elastic portion of the monk-​strap that was worn on one of the shoes, something that wasn’t even mentioned. Total for the three shoes? $ 85. No fuss, no frills, no hassle, just good business. I’ve found my go-​to place for all my nice kicks.

I’ve been going to Minas for almost a year and never had an issue. I recently bought double monk strap shoes and came in today for a shine.
I asked them to open the strap so the entire shoe could get properly cleaned. I was sitting in the chair and the gentleman REFUSED to open them. He said they don’t do that there.
I have never had an issue at any other shoe shine location with opening the straps.
The store was also empty so the extra 30 seconds it takes to open them didn’t slow them down.

Minas was very helpful. I know nothing about shoes and walked in with 3 pairs of destroyed shoes. He definitely knows what he’s talking about.
Getting my shoes repaired costs quite a lot.
$ 45 to get my heels resoled.
$ 40 to get my leather ballet flats repaired
$ 70 to clean and shampoo my suede booties.

There are few businesses that receive over 4-​stars on Unilocal.The reason for this is because most people who review things tend to skew heavily towards one opinion or the other; e.g., they will review something if they really like it or they really don’t like it. How many people go somewhere, have a completely average — acceptable but not great — experience and still review something? What this means is that the best businesses go over 4-​stars because they did so well that very few people rated them 1-​star or 2-​star. They were consistent enough in their excellence of service to minimize the negative experience reviews to almost nothing. That’s a quality business.
Minas Shoe Repair is one such business, and they are at the absolute top of their craft. I have somewhat of a minor passion for men’s shoes, owning many pairs from many quality companies such as Alden, John Lobb, Sutor Mantellassi, etc. and I would trust these guys with any repair, any time, no matter the degree of difficulty.
Here’s my story: like an absolute fucking idiot of the highest magnitude, I wore a pair of Paulo Scafora loafers on a family trip to Italy. I guess I thought it was somewhat appropriate to let this particular pair of shoes set foot once again on the country of their creation — and specifically, the Neapolitan region. However, I happened to be caught in a heavy downpour on one particular day and the loafers were absolutely, completely soaked through.
I did what I could to mitigate the damage, but it was already done. While quality leather shoes will be ok getting a little wet in my opinion, they will still suffer greatly when completely soaked through for a prolonged period of time — something they absolutely were not designed for. Upon my return to the glorious United States of America, the shoes had developed a noticeable squeaking. In a good pair of shoes, this is a fairly bad sign — that means you did enough damage to them to overcome the high quality construction and separate parts (most likely in the sole) that were once completely sealed together, causing them to constantly rub against one another (hence the squeaking).
In distress, I took this beautiful pair of shoes to Minas on a Friday. I demonstrated to them the damage and pinpointed where the squeaking was coming from. They immediately proceeded to rip off the insoles and show me where the water had ruined the inside and simply told me to come back on Monday. When I did, I found the shoes were 100% fixed and in perfect condition. I was astonished they were able to work so quickly — a one business day turnaround. They had replaced the shank and welded it through to the bottoms of the soles. This solved the problem completely and my shoes were good as new. Incredible testament to their skill.
The price was also insanely reasonable — just $ 20 for the repair. I got a nice shine as well for just $ 3. Normally I shine all my own shoes, but the price was great and the products they use are top of the line. The guys here were extremely friendly as well. Both times I went it was two older European sounding gentlemen, one skinny and one not so skinny and chain-​smoking. Both are extremely jovial and knowledgeable, seemingly each born from the womb wearing a pair of bespoke shoes — that’s how much experience they have. Fun guys to shoot the shit with and talk about shoes if you like them — absolute experts at what they do and know all that there is to know. The overall place has a great yesterday year feel, like a relaxed family business where the passion is in the blood. The absolute opposite of a modern, corporate money-​first environment.
Overall, this place is worth commuting from almost anywhere if you have a nice pair of shoes that you want fixed up. A top recommendation from me, and without any reservations whatsoever.

This place did magic on my Gucci’s. The shows were in bad need of repair. The leather is thin and fine. They came back great.
I was much less impressed with the shoe shine. I actually get a much better shine at Sole Man in Penn Station.

Not sure why Mina’s only has 4.5 stars? They are the best shoe repair and leather specialists around. Mina is a true craftsman and his daughter is quite the leather whiz herself. Love that it’s a true family business. Everyone there is super friendly and they care about quality and their customers in a genuine way.
I first came here based on Unilocal reviews, and over the last year they have given new life to my shoes, boots and sandals. With Mina’s around, they literally never have to die! Most recently, I brought in a bag that I feared was a goner. The leather had faded to near grey and looked to be disintegrating. Menia (Mina’s daughter) had impressed me so much with her custom color work on a pair of now stunning boots, that I thought maybe she could to do something for my sad bag as well.
I just got it back and… WOW. It looks like new, better than what I could ever imagine. Menia blended a dye to match a piece of unfaded leather on the inside of the bag and it is SPOT ON. Can’t imagine how long it took her to hand paint the million crevices with her little brush, but she didn’t miss a single one.
That type of skill and attention to detail is not common in my experience. Nothing is worse than paying for taps and having them fall off or break due to cheap material or poor workmanship. So don’t waste your money on the rest, get down with Mina’s, they’re the best! ;-)

Shoe professionals of Fidi is an appropriate and well deserved title. Sole worn thin? Heel needs replacing? Minas is a one stop shop for leather shoes.
I brought my pair of rust Wolverine 1000 miles to have vibram soles installed. The first go resulted in a slight peeling of the sole. I was a little dismayed and attributed the early peel to the cruddy NYC weather. Decided to see if Minas would grace me with his knowledge and indeed he did, and more. Told me Wolverines like to wax the leather sole like most good boot companies and because of this, the adhesive to the vibram sole did not stick too well. He took the boots back and said in his old timer voice «come back tomorrow, no charge.» 24 hours later and 24 hours wiser, boots are good to go.
Also brought Ralph Lauren Slatons to Minas immediately after the second encounter. Oddly enough, the cap toes made by Allen Edmonds for Ralph Lauren could not be recrafted by AE, I digress. Minas took them and slapped a German leather sole made by JR. Soles are yet to be tested but look brand spanking new.
See you soon Minas.