The cobbler of Upper Monroe

The cobbler of Upper Monroe

[Al’s Monroe Shoe Repair, 985 Monroe Avenue, 12/28/21. Except where indicated, photos by David Kramer]

Mario Gagliardi, proprietor of Al’s Monroe Shoe Services, began repairing shoes in 1951 when he was twelve, living near Naples, Italy. In 1964, Mario moved to Rochester, continuing as a cobbler for seven years before taking a job at Eastman Kodak. In 2013, Mario, a cobbler at heart, came out of retirement to take over Al’s. For decades the store was owned by Al Riolo, who came to the United States from Italy in 1947 and was in the shoe repair business ever since.  Al, who died in 2014, was Mario’s mentor and good friend. Walking into Al’s is like going back into time. Mario’s works with leather as much as possible so the store is permeated by that mildly earthy or burnt aroma hinting of a men’s cologne, one you don’t smell very often. As Mario accepts cash only, there is no electronic register nor a computer. But there are the machines.

Mario with Singer 29K71 Cobbler Leather Treadle & Hand Crank Sewing Machine, approx 90 years old.

From Al, Mario inherited three repair and polishing machines that are at least 90 years old. But each works as well now as when newly minted in the 1930s.

(left) Mario at work; (right) Al at work, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, 8/30/07 Al Riolo of Greece uses a grinder Monday as he repairs a shoe at his store, Al’s Monroe Shoe Service at 985 Monroe Ave. Fewer people today are having their shoes fixed, preferring to buy new ones. 

(left) Mario at work; (right) Al at work, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, 8/3/92 Riolo works with the sole of a shoe inside his shop on Monroe Avenue, which he bought four years ago when he was 58 years old. 

Al’s reminds me of a mostly gone era when Italian-American shoe repair stores dotted the city.

See The Austrian cannon is back in Washington Square Park and some Italian Rochester history.

The other day I was walking on Monroe Avenue after a lightish snowfall. Wearing my winter boots for the first time, I noticed the laces kept unravelling. I passed Al’s, thinkings Mario could help. He could. Mario determined the laces were way too long. First, he had to cut off the old laces and then put in a better fitting laces using a special tool. Upon more closely inspecting the boot, Mario saw porous holes that left my feet drenched. The boots were not winter worthy.

At that point, Mario asked what size were the boots. Although the tag was hard to read, we determined 8 1/2.  Mario went into the back and returned with a fine pair of 8 1/2 boots. In 2019, a man had ordered and paid for a repair. The man never returned. Mario called 4 – 5 times as marked on the work order. The man still never returned. Mario is only responsible for left merchandise for 20 days, but he kept the boots for over 2 years. Deciding the man would never return, Mario gave me the boots.

David Kramer pointing to the boots. [Photo: Mario 12/28/21]

First, Mario cannibalized the heal pads from my boots, drying the wet one on his radiator. The right boot did not quite fit so Mario stretched it out with a shoehorn. As we waited, Mario spotted some birds on the sidewalk and promptly fed them. Fortunately, I was able to somewhat pay back Mario’s kindness — to me and the birds — by giving him the old boots whose buckles he could re-use. Then I asked Mario if anyone on Monroe sold gloves. My pair was flawed in that both were for the right hand; hence one had to be worn backwards. He didn’t think so, but mentioned he had bought 5 or 6 pairs at the Dollar Store. He had one pair in his pocket that he offered to me for free.

So, I walked into Al’s Monroe Shoe Repair wearing two right-handed gloves with soggy boots whose laces were too long. I left with a pair of sharp leather boots and a pair of gloves: one right-handed and one left-handed. On the day I returned to take photos, I brought another pair of boots whose laces were long.

(left) Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, 8/30/07 Al Riolo, 77, puts the finishing touches on a shoe he’s repairing at his Monroe Avenue shop. (middle) 12/28/21 Mario shortening the laces (right) Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, 8/3/92 Al’s Monroe Shoe Service repairs shoes and other leather goods.

Mario cut and shortened the laces, then used a heat gun to tighten the frayed ends. Mario thought he could improve the water resistance of the boots with some gluing. Tagging the boots, Mario said I should come back Friday. Typically, Mario said he would not charge me, though I offered. But don’t take my word for it. As seen in various yelp reviews of Al’s Monroe Shoe Service (Tue – Sat 9am – 5pm), Mario is considered a local treasure, praised for his craftsmanship, honesty, gentlemanliness, integrity, timeliness and very reasonable prices. One reviewer calls Mario a perfectionist, meticulous in his “magnificent” work.

Mario 12/28/21

One reviewer says Mario is an artist, a viewpoint echoed by another customer who describes Mario as “a Rembrandt with a needle!” The man had brought Mario 34 year-old bison leather boat shoes, rotting in four places, faded, stiff, and weathered from neglect. In less than 48 hours, Mario “turned hardened gristle into filet mignon!  And he did so for a measly $25.” Womply  has 88 more reviews all of which give five stars.

PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS IN THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW AT END

POSTSCRIPT Al’s is next to Los’s Epic Cuts. For more on the barbershops of Upper Monroe, see Seriously, where can I get a shave and hair cut? And the nine barbershops on Upper Monroe Avenue

SEE ALSO

Monroe shows itself off as the road to Rochester

Seriously, where can I get a shave and hair cut? And the nine barbershops on Upper Monroe Avenue

About The Author

dkramer3@naz.edu

Welcome to Talker of the Town! My name is David Kramer. I have a Ph.D in English and teach at Keuka College. I am a former and still active Fellow at the Nazareth College Center for Public History and a Storyteller in Residence at the SmallMatters Institute. Over the years, I have taught at Monroe Community College, the Rochester Institute of Technology and St. John Fisher College. I have published numerous Guest Essays, Letters, Book Reviews and Opinion pieces in The New York Times, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, the Buffalo News, the Rochester Patriot, the Providence Journal, the Providence Business News, the Brown Alumni Magazine, the New London Day, the Boston Herald, the Messenger Post Newspapers, the Wedge, the Empty Closet, the CITY, Lake Affect Magazine and Brighton Connections. My poetry appears in The Criterion: An International Journal in English and Rundenalia and my academic writing in War, Literature and the Arts and Twentieth Century Literary Criticism. Starting in February 2013, I wrote for three Democratic and Chronicle  blogs, "Make City Schools Better," "Unite Rochester," and the "Editorial Board." When my tenure at the D & C  ended, I wanted to continue conversations first begun there. And start new ones.  So we created this new space, Talker of the Town, where all are invited to join. I don’t like to say these posts are “mine.” Very few of them are the sole product of my sometimes overheated imagination. Instead, I call them partnerships and collaborations. Or as they say in education, “peer group work.” Talker of the Town might better be Talkers of the Town. The blog won’t thrive without your leads, text, pictures, ideas, facebook shares, tweets, comments and criticisms.

1 Comment

  1. allison bondi

    What a great story. It’s wonderful to see these small artisan businesses highlighted!

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