Monday, December 19, 2005

Old world service, within a five minute ride

A couple of weeks ago I made a great buy on a leather jacket at the ScholarShop in Clayton. It was during their annual volunteer appreciation day where they open the store only to the family and friends of their volunteer staff.

On the following Monday, I wore the jacket for the first time, and promptly snagged it on a sharp object, tearing a 2-inch hole in the side. So I've been searching for a place to have it repaired.

Calling around, I found a little place at 5423 Gravois: "Bob Stevenson's Shoe Repair & Leatherwork & Orthotics". Sounds like a good South City place, doesn't it? They're located in the Bevo area, just a couple of blocks southwest of the old Gravois Bootery.

Bob, answering his own phone, assured me he could repair the damage like brand new, and his price was less than half of what his suburban competitors quoted. One of the best things about St. Louis are all the small independent businesses operating out of our stock of historic, mixed-use buildings, where the "Low Overhead" way still applies...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Recently this Christmas, I saved a ceramic tree from being thrown away, just because it was dated and had missing bulbs and star.

To my surprise, I found another unique City business, The Golden Kiln, 6212 Columbia, where I restored my circa 1970 ceramic tree to its former glory for less than $5.

I too think it's wonderful that these unique niches of a small business survive in many of our City's storefronts.