As in any village, there’s a shoe cobbler available in Los Altos for critical emergencies – to get a briefcase stitched, a handbag sewn or even a loose heel replaced.
At Paul’s European Cobblery, located at the corner of First and State streets, manager Stephen Oberhauser adjusts his long black leather apron and waits on a steady line of customers.
“Do you revive dead shoes?” asked an elderly gentleman as he plopped a vintage pair of loafers on the counter.
“I need lighter innersoles,” said a well-dressed woman.
The cobbler’s shop, owned by Paul and Denise Roth, is a place where you can get basic shoe repairs, shoe shining, resoling, rip sewing, some luggage repairing and even decals and patches sewn on leather jackets.
Oberhauser, the Roth’s son-in-law, is set to become a partner in the business in the near future. Oberhauser’s family has been running a shoe repair business on California Avenue in Palo Alto since 1942.
“I’m the fifth generation in shoe repair,” Oberhauser said. “My family still runs the Palo Alto shoe repair store.”
Paul’s European Cobblery has operated in Los Altos more than 20 years. Originally located next door, they moved the machinery to the larger location when the Bead Shop folded.
Oberhauser stands behind the counter working while we talk. He smiles as he pares a crepe heel to fit an old black shoe and then hand stitches a moccasin upper with a sole.
“When I get real busy, I lock the doors and work till 10 p.m. if I have to,” he said. “Most of the business is sole and heel, and it’s equally divided between men and women. I enjoy what I do. There is something different every day, and we are still a family business and keep in touch.”
The European equipment dates back to the Eisenhower administration, but it does a fine job. The cobbler’s shop does a thriving business.
“High-end shoes are a good investment,” Oberhauser said. “While mass shoe retailers sell millions of pairs of relatively low-priced, low-quality shoes, every year there is still a demand for repairing good shoes. Our main market are people who pay a decent price for decent shoes that are worth repairing.”
Oberhauser doesn’t complain, or laugh at the situation, but he has a hard time understanding the people who come in the store with shoes their dog chewed-up.
“Dogs love shoes, he said. “I guess I love them too because they bring me business.”
Paul’s European Cobblery, located at 201 First St., is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundays. For more information, call 941-0143.
