The Scarsdale Inquirer – Hometown newspaper of Scarsdale, New York 10583

August 12, 2011

End of an era: Vaccaros are closing up shop

Scarsdale Inquirer/Jim Maclean

Nikki, Luke and Justin Vaccaro

By LINDA LEAVITT

The gold lettering on the storefront has been peeling off for decades and the dusty window display of faded signs and an antique sewing machine contrasts sharply with the glam designer windows of Space NK Apothecary next door. And yet the humble Harwood Shoe Repair has been drawing loyal customers from Scarsdale and surrounding areas for 82 years. The customers don’t care about trendy décor— they just want their shoes resoled, restitched and polished, luggage handles and purse straps replaced, zippers back on track. That’s what the Vaccaro family has been doing for three generations in the same place.

But, as current owner Luke Vaccaro says, “All good things come to an end.”

“Shoe repair in America died a long time ago,” Vaccaro said in an interview in the store last week. “We’ve outlasted most of them.”

He estimates that between 75 and 80 percent of the shoe repair shops in the country have closed; Westchester, which used to have over 70 shoe repair shops, now has fewer than 20. “We survived so long because we’re in an affluent town and county,” Vaccaro said.

He attributed the decline to today’s throwaway culture, noting that there used to be a television repair shop on Christie Place and a bicycle repair shop on Scarsdale Avenue. “Now, if you break something you replace it,” he said.

The popularity of casual shoes is another factor in the demise of shoe repair shops. A 1986 survey showed that 85 percent of the shoes worn by Americans were dress shoes, Vaccaro said; now many men wear sneakers on a daily basis. Their feet spread, and when they put on dress shoes to go to a wedding, “their shoes kill them.”

Women still wear dress shoes, but they “got smart — they leave their dress shoes in the office and wear sneakers for the commute,” he said.

And shoes today are harder to repair, with fine leather, foreign materials, unusual colors and decorative elements adding to the challenge. “It’s all about style,” said Vaccaro.

Grandfathers

In 1929, Vaccaro’s grandfather, Donato, signed a lease with Rush Wilson, grandfather of the current Rush Wilson, for the ground-floor space in the building built by Scarsdale Improvement Corp. Donato ran the shop for 20 years until he died at age 51, leaving it to his wife, Carmella (hence the initial “C” on the store window). Luke Vaccaro’s father, also named Luke, ran the business for 20 years. When he died at age 40, Luke Jr. dropped out of Westchester Community College to take over for the new owner, his mother Corinna.

Luke Sr. and Corinna had 13 children. “Everyone in the family worked here at some point in high school or grammar school, some for six months, some for six years,” said Luke Jr. When he was a student at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, he used to hitchhike to the Heathcote branch of the family shop and work from 3:30 to 6. Nikki (No. 9) has worked in the shop the longest — almost 40 years, having started part-time at age 10. Justin (No. 7) has worked in the family business on and off for 37 years.

But the other siblings aren’t interested in taking over; most of them paid their own way through SUNY schools, Luke said, and are teachers, a doctor and accountant, among other professions. He doesn’t want his own three children to go into the business. And it’s increasingly hard to find skilled workers who can repair shoes. “Once I had 12 employees — I’m down to four,” said Luke. “I could probably stay in business if I moved to a smaller place — I have had good men working for me, some for over 50 years.”

Nikki said, “Two workers fell ill over the last two months. One, in his 60s, had a pulmonary embolism — we called 911— he’s lucky to be alive. The other, in his 80s, has a herniated disk and can’t do what he used to do.”

Luke, though he’s still able to work, is mindful of the fate that befell his father and his grandfather, both of whom worked seven days a week. At 60, he’s outlived both of them by a good margin, in part, he believes because he cut back on his hours years ago. “I used to work six days a week, 12 to 14 hours a day,” he said. “In 1986 I made a change. I spent less time in the shop and more time coaching.” For over a decade Luke had coached the girls’ basketball team at Scarsdale High School. He is the founder and president of the Lady Knicks AAU program and he was also involved in IHM and CYO basketball for many years. It remains a passion. His dream, he said, is to buy land and start a basketball academy. “I told Rush if he could raise the ceiling I could give lessons here,” he joked.

Back in the day, Harwood Shoe Repair did work for Saks, Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, Brooks Brothers and other high-end department stores. “We were the ‘factory’ they sent defective shoes to when customers returned them,” Luke explained. “People wore the shoes once or twice, returned them and got full credit. We had to make them look like new again.” Local dry cleaners also gave them shoe repair work, though that didn’t always work well, Luke said, because the Vaccaros like to explain the options to the customer face to face and come to an agreement on what should be done. The family also made keys, sold shoe polish, orthotic inserts and pet supplies, until Petco opened stores in Hartsdale and Yonkers in the early 1990s. “Petco killed our pet supply business,” Luke said.

As the days dwindled down in the Harwood Building, Nikki was at the spot she’s occupied most of her life, doing what she has always done, assessing the condition of customers’ shoes, the cost of various repairs and making pleasant small talk with customers. As always, she stands in the Boniface Circle doorway of the shop reminding passersby that their shoes are ready.

Several young women who looked like they were getting ready to go back to college brought in boots to be resoled. Nikki told one of them she could just put a new heel on or resole the whole thing for $48. The young woman opted for the complete repair. Another young woman brought in a stained pair of stacked heels by an expensive maker, wanting to know if they could be cleaned. Nikki pronounced them “bar shoes,” and the young woman ruefully agreed. “They’re very badly stained. We can try to clean them but it’s a $20 gamble.” The customer decided to risk it.

But a silk clutch and a beaded purse were deemed beyond hope.

None of the customers on Tuesday morning were aware that the shop was closing. “Oh my God, I’m going to miss you guys so much!” exclaimed one woman when Nikki told her the sad news. Others said, “What will I do without you?”

Though the shoes she took for repair were all in bad shape, Nikki said some people are so “meticulous” that they want shoes that appear to be in near perfect condition cleaned and polished. “They pay so much for the shoes they’re afraid to touch them,” she said. That may explain the apparent contradiction between an affluent clientele and a repair shop — cheap shoes aren’t worth fixing, but shoes costing several hundred dollars are prized investments. All shoes, whether they’re $900 Pradas or $60 loafers, are wrapped in the same brown paper awaiting pickup. Nikki will try to reach anyone who has not picked up repairs by the end of the month; unclaimed shoes will be given to a homeless shelter.

Moving on

Luke already has some experience in closing a business, having shut the Heathcote store in 2006. His wife Mary, a reading teacher at Roosevelt High School in Yonkers, “has been begging me to leave the business for eight years,” he said. She’s still working and enjoying the couple’s grandchildren. He’s mulling a job offer as a factory foreman and hanging on to his dream of opening a basketball clinic.

“It’s been a great place, supporting my family,” said Luke of the shop. But his Uncle Leslie is evidence that there’s life after store ownership. The former owner of Tru Fit shoes at Heathcote Five Corners, Leslie Vaccaro is now happy working for someone else — ComFit Shoes on Central Avenue.

Nikki’s already been working a few days a week as a parking enforcement officer in Eastchester and Tuckahoe and planning to take a civil service test so she can do it full time. She’s also applied for a job in Scarsdale. “I like being outdoors,” she said, and weekends off give her more time to read, play softball and bowl. She knows firsthand how merchants and their customers feel about PEOs; when she first started in Eastchester’s North End, she dreaded seeing customers from Scarsdale: “I pulled my hat down and wore sunglasses,” she said. But now that the store is closing she’s not hiding any more. “There are rules and they have to be enforced,” she said.

Justin Vaccaro is weighing several possibilities, including working in a restaurant or for a stone mason or walking dogs.

The Vaccaros value tradition, but they also recognize that times have changed. “It’s very sad, but it’s time,” said Nikki. “It’s not the same village anymore, supplying all your needs. Now it’s like Rodeo Drive.”

Editor’s note: The Vaccaros suggest customers take their future shoe problems to Occhione Fine Leather Goods, 42 Main St., Port Chester or Chillemi Shoe Repair in the White Plains Mall on Hamilton Avenue.

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