Sofia Shoe Repair Services

I’m a fan of getting good shoes and having them repaired as needed to maintain them. Sofia is one of the only places I know of that can do leather repair so we’ve been coming to them for years. The place smells like all sorts of leather, leather cleaners, conditioners, etc. and it’s generally dusty, dirty & chaotic in there — particularly during boot season. However, they rescued a favorite pair of boots after 2+ weeks of trekking around Europe in them and made the same pair look nearly as good as new AGAIN when I spilled something on them that bleached the leather. They have also re-​soled tons of my husband’s shoes and put new heels on mine as well. They will also do stretching to make the break-​in period of new leather shoes/​boots more comfortable. An airline just broke one of my husband’s leather straps on a small bag so we’ll be visiting them again soon to fix that. Sofia’s customer service can be kind of gruff, but they usually get the job done. Presumably this is a craft that not a ton of people know so I accept their faults and keep coming back. During the busiest season there can sometimes be quite a wait for your shoes, as it seems like they have a small team, so I encourage you to go earlier in the season if possible.

Dropped off a pair of boots here a few weeks ago the woman at the desk seemed very uninterested in her job and what i was asking for in regards to my boot repair. I tentatively left the boots in her care and she handed me a ticket. (They do not collect your contact information to alert you when work is done) I showed up a week later and the boots were tampered with bu still not repaired although they were still requesting payment. I tried them on and showed her they still weren’t fixed, she looked annoyed and told me she could have «the guy» look at them again if i wanted but it would cost me more to do the work a second time around?! I should have taken them then and there and cut my losses but i don’t know of any other shoe repair places in the area and i LOVE these boots. I showed up a week later and they had clearly been tampered with further but still not repaired entirely. The man at the desk requested double payment regardless of the state of the boots and when i told him i thought that was unfair he told me to forget about it and take the boots. Overall a huge lack of communication, professionalism and poor workmanship has led me to this negative review, something i don’t take lightly especially in regards to small local business.

Second and third visit with troublesome «project» shoes confirms. This is the place to to fix your old but beloved dogs.

Great, honest work. Sure the décor could use some help, but this guy is clearly a craftsman in the truest sense.

Alright, I’m giving this a tentative 3-​stars but I am actually really happy with the service. Allow me to digress into some background information:
I moved here from Phoenix a couple years ago, where I had the most A++ phenomenal shoe repair place in all the land. I’m obsessed with shoes and have a large collection of gorgeous designer duds. I’m extremely anxious about entrusting my shoes to anyone. In fact, I’ve been shipping my shoes back to PHX to get repaired after I tried another place on Monroe that DECIMATED, butchered, and hack jobbed my Givenchy boots. That’s when I started sending things back to my old shop.
Then I found myself in a pinch. A huge pinch. I was leaving for a trip the next day and discovered a pair of my boots desperately needed heel caps. I had read the reviews of Sofia and was suuuuper wary about trying them, but I figured who can screw up heel caps?
Now onto the review: The front desk person is surly, and the place looks like every shoe repair shop I’ve ever entered from Italy to NYC, so that cluttered, leathery, messy aspect doesn’t phase me. I only care about good repairs — and I got that!
They got my shoes done in one day, called me to let me know I also needed toe caps (which I did I just didn’t want to push my luck getting them done in time), did a great job and were reasonably priced! I’m definitely bringing another pair of shoes to them and would recommend giving them a try.
UPDATE: Just no. Brought in a pair of Lanvin sandals that needed straps repaired and they did an ATROCIOUS job. Plus, when I arrived to pick up the shoes they were thrown in a giant box with a zillion other pairs of sandals (actually buried under other shoes) and were handed back to me scuffed and dirty. The shoes were in worse condition than when I brought them in. Plus they charged me $ 55! I am furious that I paid and didn’t just refuse. But I really wanted my shoes back so I could mail them back to Phoenix to my real repair shop.
Is there ANYPLACE in Rochester that does designer shoe repair?!

I finally brought in a pair of brown leather boots that needed a good cleaning, shining and waterproofing (~$ 15). I heard good things about Sofia’s from a friend so I had good expectations. The whole process was pretty simple: you bring in your shoes, note the things you’d like done, and it took about a week. When I picked them up I failed to look at them closely in the shop. Had I done that, I would have realized that they only looked like they were shined. There are still some scuffs I expected to be buffed out. Also, overall the place is quite dirty. There’s dust everywhere and things are disorderly. Aesthetically, it doesn’t give off a good vibe in terms of professionalism. Regardless of the service they provide, I expect a business to be well-​kept and organized. The lady who I interacted with at drop-​off and pick-​up (assuming it’s Sofia?) was not so friendly. Sure, not every business owner will chat you up at the counter, but she didn’t even crack a smile or murmur a greeting. It was a little gruff. Based on my experience, I’m not sure I’ll go back.

HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE! Paid $ 6 to get boots fixed, decent job fixing. Then, I paid $ 22.45 to get a backpack strap fixed in late August. When I called to ask if it was done the response was, «Just come in later, it should be done.» Went to pick it up stood at the front desk for about 5 minutes while the man in the back just sat there doing whatever he was doing. He finally came out but told me he didn’t have my backpack. After about 5 more minutes of looking he found it, in the back room, it was returned to me dirty and dusty. I paid just wanting to leave because the man was so rude. Fast forward to Mid October as I’m walking to class my backpack strap just falls right out. After looking at the stitching I realize he barely even fixed the strap. They just cut a hole in the side stuck the strap in and tried to do a few stitches to shut it. I could have done that if I knew that’s what a «repair shop» was going to do. It’s more broken now than when I brought it in. I’m in college so returning it is not an option/​probably won’t happen because I’ve called on 3 different occasions and I’ve been hung up on or the manager has «been out/​on lunch». I will never go back to this place place. Rude employees, shoddy workmanship, horrible store maintenance and lack of concern for the customers satisfaction. I feel ripped off and annoyed, and now I have to buy a new backpack.

As a young whippersnapper, I don’t take care of my leather goods nearly as well as I should. I buy nice products and then let them fall into disrepair and need to replace them far too soon. Due to my negligence, my black safety shoes for work and my black leather curling shoes had gotten that ugly green wear on them and I needed some help to bring them back from the brink.
Luckily a review popped up for this place and I brought my shoes in to see if he could work some old school magic on them. The interior and the man making the repairs is old school to a T. Pleasant enough but he gets down to business quickly and took my information and told me when to come back.
When I went to pick up my shoes, I saw two pairs that looked better than when they were new. Recolored, polished and sewn as needed, Johnnie did a great job and gave my shoes a new life. Very happy for the prices charged and I would definitely go back if I needed more repairs done.

Very rude on the phone. I had a simple question and he hurried me off the phone and then hung up without saying goodbye.

I’ve been going to Ex-​Marine Johnnie’s AKA Sofia Shoe Repair for YEARS. One of the best. Hard to find on Unilocal,though. Great place to bring your tired, repairable leather. Took my wife’s distressed leather boots there and they made them look fantastic… only trouble was I told ‘em to make ‘em look good. After my wife got over her anger she liked the way they looked!