Behind the Business: Vinny’s A-1 Shoe Repair

You might expect someone with a moniker like “Vinny the Shoe” to be a film character played by Robert de Niro, but in fact -- though Vinny does have movie star looks -- Vinny Pacheco is a hard-working craftsman with a successful shoe business in Sonoma since 2000.

As the owner of , Vinny Pacheco spends his days stitching, gluing, polishing and repairing the footwear of Sonoma residents. A third-generation cobbler, Vinny learned the trade from his father, Tony Pacheco.

Tony had shops on the Peninsula in the 60’s and 70’s before moving to Napa and running a repair shop there. Vinny grew up working in his father’s various locations, acquiring the artisan skills that are handed down in handcrafted professions such as shoe repair.

A lifelong interest in fitness led Vinny to pursue a career as a trainer in health clubs such as Gold’s Gym in Hollywood. In his early 30s, he was set to leave for the Caribbean to run a spa/fitness club when his father, now retired, suddenly became ill.

Vinny returned to Napa to help him through his treatment. Needing to make a living during this time, Vinny decided to buy a shoe repair in Sonoma with his father. In 2000, they took over an existing enterprise near the in the shopping center.

They installed additional equipment, expanded their services and soon were seeing a regular and growing clientele. “We opened at a good time,” said Vinny. “There was a resurgence in the craft scene, with more people turning to quality products with lasting value and taking an interest in artisan crafts.” Tony has since retired, but stops by often to chat with friends and customers.

Vinny typically works on 15 to 30 pairs of shoes a day, from $800 Christian Louboutin’s to $40 Mootsies Tootsies. Common problems range from broken heels on women’s pumps to “puppy” repairs — restoring health to shoes that get gnawed on by new, four-legged members of the family.

Referrals come from the community, and include doctors who send their patients to get specialized support inserts, wives who send their husbands in to spruce up their favorite brown or black shoes, and other businesses such as Foot Candy -- the high-end women’s shoe store — that sends over customers who need subtle details like sole protectors on stilettos and pumps.

While women make up about 60 percent of the customer base, men constitute a healthy percentage too. As men’s shoe fashions change less frequently than women’s, men tend to buy two or three pair of better quality shoes and become attached to them.

There are some men’s shoes Vinny has re-soled and re-heeled four or five times — something he’s proud of. “I like the fact that I can help extend the lifetime of a shoe, making a customer happy and doing a little something for the environment as well by lessening waste.”

Some men, like Nathan Wong, appreciate unique and stylish shoes. He recently brought in a pair of tan Ferragamo wingtips that he has had Vinny repair and refurbish more than once. “I bought them at a sample sale and very few were made. I love the color and the narrow shape,” said Wong.

In a discussion, the two decide to sand the edges and put a lighter color sole and heel on that turns out to give the shoe a whole new look. Wong, a Marin art dealer and part of the Wong family of Sonoma, has convinced his girlfriend to bring her shoes in, and other members of his family. “Vinny is a craftsman,” said Wong. “To him, it’s an art and he takes pride in his work.”

Honesty and workmanship are the foundation of Vinny’s business. “When a customer comes in,” he explains, “I give them a whole diagnosis on their shoes; then I let them make a decision on what they want me to do.”

Most of the equipment Vinny works on is older than he is and its continued usefulness is a tribute to the manufacturers who believed in machinery that would stand up to a lifetime of diverse tasks.

Vinny’s A-1 Shoe Repair is at once a vestige of a time gone by, where towns had individual shops that enjoyed a longstanding relationship with their community, and a rebirth of the small merchant who knows your name, and whose work and products you trust.

Vinny’s A-1 Shoe Repair, 500 West Napa Street, Ste. 516, Sonoma. 
(707) 996-6877  Open Tue - Fri, 9am - 5:30pm; Sat, 9am - 4pm. Follow along in the shoe-biz with Vinny's surprisingly informative and entertaining blog.