A new shoe repair shop is opening in Tigard following the closure of New Shoes Shoe Repair on Main Street due to COVID — but not by the same cobbler.
Bryan Berkey is the operator of the modern shoe studio Top Shelf Shoe Repair, which celebrated its grand opening on November 21 with a ribbon cutting ceremony provided by the Tigard Chamber of Commerce — and he is the former apprentice of his mentor, Donny Myers, who operated New Shoes Shoe Repair (see tigardlife.com/go/tcciq-tl) on Main Street in Downtown Tigard for 30 years.
In total, Myers has 45 years of industry experience — and multiple international awards. He has a long legacy in the industry with the awards and titles he’s amassed over the years, including placing 3rd in the World at the SSIA international competition.
“Mr. Myers … took me from the beginning level up to the next stage, advanced craftsman,” Berkey said. “As apprentice of Mr. Myers, he started teaching me right away the fine tunings of the machines, which is integral to the profession.”
His wife, Mira Nicolas, is the business owner, and Berkey cobbles the shoes, repairs handbags, and more as a skilled tradesman.
“We do leather work, bags, shoe stretching, sneaker customization, repair work and weatherization on all shoes, boots, rubber boots, even zippers, jackets, cuffs, you name it,” Berkey said.
Berkey said plenty of challenges come with starting up a new business in terms of doing things he wasn’t trained for, like advertising and website design.
“Those have been challenges, but we’re getting closer and closer. We keep saying, just keep working until it works out,” Berkey said. “As far as challenges go, every day I’m learning something new.”
He signed a five-year lease on the 72nd Avenue location. It features a sliding garage door that helped provide the space to move all the machines in.
Berkey said he’d like to accept a new cobbler apprentice in the future someday — maybe one of his own three children. Right now, it’s just him, his wife, and his mentor.
Top Shelf repairs anything from work boots to high-end dress shoes for men and women — like Birkenstocks, sea turtle or kangaroo leather loafers, or even Louis Vuitton purses. They fix carpenter bags, wallets, and belts, too.
“We don’t discriminate as far as what product comes in, unless it’s cost-prohibitive,” Berkey said. “We get involved in customization, too.”
The shop sports high-quality, heavy-duty sewing machines that Myers said are 70-90 years old. One is originally from Converse, and the team purchased them from different cobbler shops that had closed down.
“The industry is not dying, the people are. So we’re trying to keep the industry alive, getting another generation (trained),” Berkey said. “The industry’s alive, creative, and thriving with the knowledge being passed down through the craftsman to the apprentice.”
Myers said to keep an eye out for his new book, slated to come out in the next three months, titled “Walk in this Man’s Shoes.”
Top Shelf Shoe Repair is located at 11714 S.W. 72nd Ave., Tigard (across the street from Winco) and can be reached at 503-349-1012. For more information, visit www.topshelfshoerepair.com.
