City-Honored Shoe Shop to Move From Longtime Home

After 52 years in business, the shoe repair shop Giovanni D'Italia has plans to move from its location at the corner of 7th and Garden Streets – the intersection the city named Cobbler's Corner – to the corner of 7th and Willow Streets. The shoe shop, which will be taking over the storefront , will have the new address 266 7th St.

Owner Giovanni Perrupato, who has virtually changed his name since he's become better known as Giovanni D'Italia, has been working since his childhood in the shop his father started.

“I hate to leave this place because of all the memories,” Perrupato said. “We still have the original dust from when we moved in."

Perrupato said the shop is moving into a bigger space and that's about planning for the next 50 years of the business. “We have to do it for the next generation,” he said.

He said he hopes to be set up in his new space by the end of May. The shop will continue to provide all of the services it has now, which includes repairing shoes, handbags, jackets, suitcases and other items.

Regular customers of Giovanni D'Italia who stop by just to pet the shop's famous pooch that lays near the front window will also continue getting that perk. Perrupato said the dog, named Pazzo, will have his own space built for him in the new store. “We're gonna squeeze him in,” he said.

The Business Beat covers businesses opening, closing, renovating, relocating and celebrating anniversaries in the Mile Square. Have a Hoboken related business tip? Send an email to alanskontra@hotmail.com.