Shoe repairman laments that his business is a lost art

If you go

Vic's Shoe Repair, 4823 B Salem Ave., 274-7463

TROTWOOD — Once, not so long ago, Victor Crump could almost look out the front window of his Salem Avenue strip mall storefront and see two other shoe repair shops.

“In the 1970s and ’80s, there were 20 shops at one time,” Crump said. “And they were all busy. Now, I’m the only one left north (and one of the few in the area). I get people coming in here from Troy and Brookville and Greenville, places like that.”

Crump says he can fix 400 pairs of shoes a week — “it’s easy to do 80 a day” — and he also fixes purses, leather coats and even restores zippers in jeans. He is even beginning work with a shoe company to make custom shoes with the customer able to pick out the leather materials, and plans to expand his business with a few lines of ready-made shoes.

So, with all the business, where have all the stores gone?

“I started when I was 13, working for my grandfather, then my uncle, Lee Smith, who had four stores,” Crump said. “When I graduated from Roth High School in 1973, I went to the Columbus College of Art and Design, but I came back here to work.

“Now, nobody wants to do this. The young kids want to have college degrees and don’t want to get dirty. In this economy, people are repairing their shoes.”

Crump may have plenty of business, but a bout with diabetes closed his shop for a while this winter, and he said his doctor told him he couldn’t work long hours. He’s open noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

“We have a slogan,” Crump said. “ ‘We save soles every day except Sunday and Monday.’ We also say, ‘We will dye for you.’ ”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2157 or mkatz@DaytonDailyNews.com