It all began in Lebanon…

Fred was the first in his family to specialize in cobbling. Born in Lebanon, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1957 in order to work and take advantage of “the land of opportunity.” While his father was a taxi driver, Fred developed a unique talent for cobbling. When he arrived in Peoria, Illinois, it was a booming industrial town with a large population of Lebanese immigrants. Initially he was doing work for various shoe repair shops before he eventually found a steady job at the old Bergner’s department store in downtown Peoria.

Back then, Bergner’s housed nine other cobblers in its basement, a far cry from today, when repairs are consigned to specialty shops like Fred’s and a very few others in the area. In these times, when disposability trumps durability, it’s easy to forget that a large department store once held a fully functioning shop dedicated to such reclamation. Here in the store’s basement, Fred’s sons Ray and Anthony came to immerse himself in his father’s trade.

Passing on the Family Art

After classes let out for the day, Ray and Anthony would take the bus to Bergner’s from school, where they would hang out with their dad for a couple of hours until they closed. At first, Ray and Anthony just watched, admiring their father’s work, but they would soon find that cobbling and the other repairs that he would one day perform himself came naturally to them.

Fred’s Shoe Repair opens shop

In 1971, Fred moved out of Bergner’s to start his own business on Prospect Road—the original Fred’s Shoe Repair. He ran this shop for more than 37 years, until a shoulder injury made it difficult to use his hammer in repair work, and he was forced to send many of his customers to Ray’s shop on University. In 2008, Fred closed the Prospect shop but his legacy continued through his son, Ray.

Anthony opens Solana Beach shop

In 1985, Anthony opened his first shop, also named Fred’s Shoe Repair, in Peoria, Illinois.  Soon thereafter, Anthony decided to move his craft and business to San Diego, California.  Anthony’s Shoe Repair opened its doors in Solana Beach, California in 1989 and expanded to other locations throughout the San Diego area, including Carmel Mountain (opened 1992) and Del Mar (opened 2002).  Meanwhile, the family business is still thriving in the Peoria, Illinois.