It's fall, time for my cache of little black high heel ankle boots to come out of hiding. One pair, in particular, makes me look supermodel-tall. I bought them in Amsterdam in 1993, and they are still in style, those fashion-forward Dutch! Walkable 5 inch heels are something to be treasured, and preserved. Well. Needless to say, they get a workout, and the heels get beat up once in awhile, even losing bits of the bottom of the heel. Every time this happens, I think they're down for the count. No! I brought them to Excellent for a reviving spa day. Overnight I had new heel . . . whatever those things are on the bottom of the heel. They also fixed some of the uh . . . heel itself (I was not going to say "shaft". Ooops, I did.), I guess that was peeling off. They polished them. Yum, black leather. Downtown location, convenient, in and out quick. QUICK work. $12 for more years of swagga? Bring me that love! read more

Difficult to find (in basement of building with terrible signage). Was looking for some simple shoe items, polish, heel protectors, laces and the like. Stop waiting for a gentlemen to finish his stitching, barely spoke English. Decided to shop elsewhere. Definitely did not live up to it's name. read more

HEART. HEART. HEART! As a girl with tree trunks for legs, I have an almost impossible task when attempting to find knee high boots. Until I decided to scam the system and jerry-rig a pair of boots. I bought a $40 pair of boots at Old Navy for my little experiment and brought the boots to Excellent Shoe Repair. I asked the shoe cobbler to cut out aU-shaped portion of the boot shaft and insert black elastic. $35 dollars and two days later, I was the proud owner of trendy pair of boots that actually managed to fit my calves. Excellent Shoe Repair truly did an excellent job. The boots were altered exactly as I asked and the seams were clean and neat. Although I experienced a bit of a language barrier with the shoe cobbler, he summoned help to expedite the explanations. Easy peasy. In and out in under 5 minutes each time. read more

RUN, DONT WALK from this place! .. the owner is Nice.. From afar but that is where it ends for me. I took in a pair of $300 boots hoping to get elastic in them before I struted my stuff. I was told that the price would be $50 and my boots would be ready in 3 days. before leaving I was told that I could leave a deposit of $10 but I didn't have any cash ( I' m thinking Hell ! These are brand new $300 boots. surely you don't think that I'm going to leave them behind for you to sell in here for $50 do you ? ) I left the boots and the box with the ownere.. when I showed up on Thursday morning because Wed was to hectic.. I realized that they hadn't even started on my boots.. I was told that they would be ready the following tuesday The real reason was probably because I didn't leave that $10 deposit. I took my boots/box and left there! he should've just said that there would be no repair without a deposit.. he could've purchased almost two months of lunchs for this man with the price of these boots and he didn't bother to even look at them ? Needless to say.. after walking around in the boots, they stretched on their own so I diidn't even need to go! what a waste of my time read more

This is, officially, the heaven for all die-hard shoes addicts who have insufferable heart-aches whenever a pair of their beautiful, trusted shoes breaks down!! I am surprised that there's been so few reviews for this wonderful hidden shoe cobbler! I first found out about Excellent Shoe Repair at work, when I overheared 2 of my managers swapping their stories about the store: "Hey! Have you checked out that amaaaaazing shoe repair store down the street I told you about??" "not yet.. have you finally bring in your shoes? How was it?" "oh-my-god. You need to go there ASAP! I brought in a pair of my boots after the bottom's worn out to be re-soled (replacing the rubber sole), and I got it back within 2days! check these baby out!!" Of course, this sound tooo good to be true. I was getting ready to throw away my beloved, now-4-year-sold-suede-boots because the sole & heels have worn out. But I can never find another pair of boots that fit my calves so nicely, with perfectly proportioned heels for dancing!! They are in perfect condition except the soles... I wonder if this cobbler can resurrect these babies? I brought in my boots the very next day! The store was tricky to find, it's in the basement/ pedway of 25 E. Washington, you can enter the building from the main entrance (next to the Suit store), or enter from the Wabash / State street entrace as well. Take the escalator down to pedway, and it's hidden right behind Ballys. At first sight, I thought I came to the wrong place. The store is really small, and there's virtually no shoes in sight! Then the cobbler heard the doorbell, so he emerged from the backroom. I sneaked a peek and the backroom was actually the Heaven's Gate where all the shoes were waiting for their second life!! The cobbler didn't speak much English, but it's easy enough to communicate by showing him the trouble areas with my boots. He examined the boots and then told me to come back in 3 days, the repair was ONLY going to run me $15 (compared to the $25 quote I rec. in Lincoln Park). 3 days later, I came back waiting to witness a miracle. My boots.. they were good as new again! The soles were replaced with a thicker, anti-slip black sole. The exterior of the heels were replaced with plastic, and both heels were sawn to the same height (1 of them was slightly slanted before). Now, I am prepare to get at least another 1-2 years out of these babies!! THANK YOU Excellent Shoe Repair!!! *p.s. I will post up before & after photos this weekend! read more

HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Against my better judgement, I brought Excellent Shoe Repair my favorite pair of Manolo Blahnik snakeskin pumps for a simple heel replacement and they DESTROYED THEM! Apparently, when you ask for a simple heel replacement they think you want a buff, but what they didn't seem to realize is the shoe was SNAKESKIN and you can't buff snakeskin. So obviously, they buffed the snakeskin right off the pump. Then preceded to "fix" their mistake with brown shoe polish. The Manolo Blahnik pump is completely RUINED. I demanded a replacement and was told NO. And, they would not file an insurance claim because it does not cover "mistakes", but what they did was DAMAGE PROPERTY. My State Farm is in the process of working with his agent, but it looks that I'll be having to file a claim in Small Claims court. HORRIBLE is not even a strong enough word to describe this business. Not only do they do horrible work, but they don't even stand behind their work after they damage it. STAY FAR, FAR, FARRRRRR AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HORRIBLE. read more

I went to Excellent Shoe Repair yesterday after reading user recommendations here on Yelp. I have a pair of leather sandals with ornamentation on the straps. The ornamentation is coming off, and all it would take to sew it back on is two, maybe three stitches. I showed it to the man at the counter, and he said there was "no way" he can fix it. It's such a simple job! If he can't put two stitches on a sandal strap, I question whether or not he can do more extensive shoe repairs. Or maybe he just couldn't be bothered with such a small job. In any case, I am very disappointed & will be taking my shoe repair business elsewhere. read more

Maybe I came in at the wrong time. I brought in my shoes hoping to get one pair cleaned and the other sole repaired. to my dismay the man behind the counter looked at both of them and said 'no.' I asked why not and he gave me a mumbling 'no, sorry' answer. I had to wonder, if this shoe store can't simply clean a pair of boots and fix the bottom of a shoe, what exactly DO they do? I tried a third time, suggesting ways to clean them or inquiring as to why he was so confident with his no for an answer, but the man wouldn't budge. After reading such 'excellent' reviews I had to wonder, did he even work there? Or was he a stranger that hopped behind the counter? I took my shoes to a different shoe repair recommendation and they did an amazing job, for very low price. I believe it's called Imperial Shoe repair, located on Lake street. They definitely knew what they were doing, no questions asked. read more

My boots needed to get re-heeled so I took them here and the man did a great job. And it was cheap too- $5! I don't know if "re-heeling" is the right term, but the metal was coming out of the heel so he put something over it. Anyways, it is fast service (ready in 2 days) and the location is awesome if you work/live in the loop. It's in the same building as Bally's, but on the lower floor. read more

Best value shoe repairer I've ever found! The guy who does the shoe repairs is always so cheerful. I get the idea that the woman who runs the cleaners (in the same store) is the boss of him, so to speak. I've always been charged really great rates here, and once he fixed my sandal on the spot and said "no charge." So please - give his shop business. It's in the Pedway, I guess.... you can either get to it by the underground of Macy's, or via 25 E Washington - past the most god-awful gym in the world, ahem, Bally's. But back to the Best-Shoe-Repairer-Ever: his work is impeccable and fast, and he polished my boots when he reattached the stiletto heel I broke off at the Mars Gallery Yelp Party ... in 3 hours! It was like getting a brand new pair of shoes for $15! read more

If your experience is anything like mine, dogs tend to be shoes' worst enemy. How tragic that I love both of them on an equal scale. So when I came home from the bar at 4am to find my one side of brand new pumps chillen in the middle of my living room with the wooden heel chewed off, I was infuriated and heart broken at the same time thinking that I hadn't even worn those pumps once besides trying them on at the store. Anyway, I hopelessly clung on to them and locked them up in the back of my closet thinking that maybe one day a miracle would happen and that they would look like normal shoes again. That miracle has finally come. It finally hit me one day that maybe that chewed up heel might not be beyond repairable as I once thought it was. It looked pretty mangled up but I thought I should give it a try and take it to a talented shoe repair store. This hidden gem happened to be by my work, and after having read all of the amazing yelp reviews, though not a lot, I took them here thinking that I had nothing to lose. I'm so glad that I clung on to the shoes instead of tossing them out because he literally made them look as if no dog has ever laid its fangs on them. After a quick 10 second glance and a cute chuckle, he said that they would be ready in 4 hrs and would only charge me $5!!!!! He is my shoe saver from here and on, and his kind and warm nature makes me want to give him my business as well. I used to go to Gus' Shoe Repain on Clark and Fullerton, and I think that they are just way overpriced, overrated, and the amount of time that it takes to get your shoes back despite how simple the job is is ridiculous. Also, their craftmanship isn't much to brag about. If you're in downtown or around the area, this place is worthy to check out. P.S. It's a little bit hard to find. It's on the bottom Pedway level, and when you get out of the elevator make a left. Say I didn't tell you so. read more

FINALLY! I found a shoe repair place that is conveniently located and affordable! Where is this magical and wondrous cobbler you ask? In the Loop! I know what you're thinking..."lies and falsehoods" but I speak the truth! Yes the language barrier is difficult but he fixed my favorite boot heel and cleaned a winters worth of salt stains and scrapes and scuffs and gave me back boots that looked brand new! I currently have a shopping bag full of shoes to take here..I'm sold! Took me a bit to find this place after reading the great reviews on Yelp, it's located with the basement level shops but if you come through on Wabash street there is nothing to indicate that the building is anything but your standard office building...if you go through the Washington side, just take the escalator down. read more

I came here to get my worn and torn bebe Zahara heels fixed. A little skeptical only because I relied on all the yelp reviews. Glad I gave this place a go. I dropped off my heels at 10am on Thursday, they were ready by noon the next day! The guys did a fantablous job on fixing my heels and also had a part of my pump sewn for me. All for $14, not too bad. I practically run in these comfy heels at work. They've been through so much and Excellent Shoe Repair gave my pumps the TLC it needed. :) So happy, I'll be back here soon! read more

They did a fabulous job on my boots. I also needed my UGG boots cleaned...it turned out fantantic...it is fast service...I just love this place... It is one stop for everything. You can get dry cleaning and alterations done here too. She is great. She knows what she is doing...unlike other places I have been too. She have altered my leather pants and tapered my suede jacket. The prices are reasonable, too. read more

I've been here several times, mostly to replace the heel of my pumps. They get the job done but the last time I went I took my BLACK pumps to get replaced by a TAN rubber part that got painted over with black paint. (the black paint started to wear off and revealed the tan after my first wear). To be honest, this didn't bother me too much because I replace the heel of my pumps fairly regularly (every three months or so). I had only worn the heels twice and one of the heels fell off during my second wear. I went back to ask them to replace them because it was obvious that it was a workmanship issue. They charged me $10, saying that they had to replace both. I asked why I had to pay for poor workmanship, and they charged me $5. It's not that I don't want to pay the $10 but if it was due to poor workmanship why should I pay for both heels to be replaced again?? It's poor customer service. They've lost a regular customer over $10 or $5... who knows. read more

Just okay, but I would avoid. I paid $60 to replace two soles on my dress shoes. I came back the next week to find that they took the time to shine my shoes as well. Awesome, I thought. I wore the fixed shoes the next day, but I noticed something poking my foot from the sole. Lo and behold, a nail went thru too far, and the sole was already falling apart. Also, the shoe shine was actually wearing down my shoes! I called them to let them know of these problems. They took the blame, and attempted to fix it again. I wore them the day after they were "fixed" again, and the sole is still coming off. I gave up. The shoes are ruined on top and on the soles, and I bit the bullet and bought a new pair of shoes. I would look elsewhere for sole replacements. read more

I brought in my Burberry purse because I had torn the seam trying to cram my iPad into it. The man said he would repair it for 7 dollars. Then he asked me when I needed it back and I said ASAP. He proceeded to fix the purse right then and there. It took me longer to go to the cash machine to get cash out, than for him to fix my purse. Excellent work! read more

This is the most affordable tailor i've found in the city. They've taken in pants for me, even turning my least favorite pants into my most favorite ones (bell bottoms into skinny leg) for only $19 and it's conveniently located through the pedway off the grand redline stop. read more

So I love this place - at least I always did. When I worked in the building I would bring my dry cleaning here, exclusively. It was always fast and the cheapest place I had ever been. Not only that, but there was the best shoe-shine guy ever. So friendly and really took pride in the good work he did. Sue, the seamstress was also wonderful. Countless times she would tailor things things up for me and even do small repairs on the spot for free! Cannot say enough good things. However...After a few months hiatus I came back and shoe shine man was gone! Sue was gone! Did the place change owners? My dry cleaning was still cheap and effective, only, there wasnt that personal aspect anymore. That is why I am giving 4 stars instead of 5. read more

Resole and polish for 45$ in two days on some great men's thrifted shoes. Slight language barrier but the guy's a magician. This is my new shoe repair joint, period. read more

I was visiting from California when the heels in my boots started to wear out from all of the walking here. I looked up a shoe repair in yelp and found this place. I went over there and they were super nice, we're able to fix my heels as I waited and were a very reasonable price! Highly recommend!!! read more

I had a suede snow boot zipper replaced. It was done in 2 days for $25. The old man behind the counter is very gentle and sweet. His English isn't the best, but he did a great job. He used a heavy duty zipper and beautifully stitched it in. When I realized there was something stuck in the zipper, he took it back and immaculately cleaned it. I found that the rest of my dirty suede boot was cleaned free of charge. I was so surprised, all I could do is just profusely thank him. He's also a tailor. I will most definitely take my other broken zippers to him. read more

What makes this place great: 1. Prompt turnaround time. 2. Value -- the prices are very reasonable. 3. The cobbler's great attitude. I am so glad Yelp directed me to this wonderful gem of a shoe repair shop in the middle of downtown Chicago. read more

I've been there once to replace my heels (I always buy cheap boots and the heels are melting). They told me I could pick up my shoes the next day, since I came in around 4. They did a good job: for only 10$, I had new heels, even if they were a little smaller than what I asked for, I guess I should have been more precise. And yess, my shoes don't make a terrible noise on the pavement anymore! read more

I was recently visiting Chicago and needed to get my shoe taps replaced. This place is run by two thugs who barley speak English and know absolutely nothing about shoe repair. I asked to have only the shoe tops replaced, but the owner asked me multiple times if I wanted to have my shoes "waterproofed." I refused each time, but he still did his "waterproofing" and charged me for it. When I took out my wallet to pay he tried to grab it and said he would clean up the leather. I pushed him away and told him not to touch me; I have no doubt that my wallet would be a few dollars lighter if he had gotten hold of it. During this interaction, the other guy was standing right behind, just too close for comfort. If that experience wasn't bad enough, their shoe repair was even worse. The taps were not placed flush against the heel and the nails used were longer than the heel; thankfully they bent instead of going through the shoe sole. To top it off, they didn't even remove the nails from the previous taps! It's pathetic that these guys run a shoe repair shop, yet don't even know how to properly replace taps. It seems like there quite a few other shoe repair shops to try in Chicago...so unless you want to be overcharged for shoddy work and potentially mugged - stay far away from this place! read more

Terrible service. Called in to have item stretched. He said the leather was different type and hung up on me. I guess he figured he wouldn't make any money off me so he hung up before I could even ask my second question. I'll go somewhere else. read more

I have been going here for 4 YEARS and never had a problem until today. I took two pairs of patent leather shoes to get the heels replaced and when I received them they must have been shined with some chemical because they were matte and no longer shiny. When I discussed my unhappiness with my shoes the man said "well you are rich you can pay for them". I am a 24 year old starving artist with multiple freelance jobs, I am barely paying rent but I guess you could say I dress nice in my cheap forever 21 dresses. I was so offended by what he said and the fact that he could judge me so harshly that I treated to walk out and not even take my shoes. He finally agreed to my price, I am still not happy with my shoes and will NEVER go back there again! read more

The sole of my dress shoe had begun to rip. Needed a quick adhesive job. I foolishly took the pair in (even though only one shoe was ripping) and the owner ripped the soles off both before I could stop him. Anyhow, I thought nbd, he'll just patch em both. Paid $15, they were ready the next day. Felt great for about 2 weeks, then I felt like the lining was coming undone again. a week later, the inevitable happened and I took it back to him. This time, he said he'd never seen me or done any work on my shoes. He kept pointing to the repair job and saying "It's not my work!". I had thrown away my receipt, so I had no way of proving to it to him - but i told him I have the receipt at home just to move things along. He then started to tell me that it would cost $20 to repair and was being very aggressive. I said I shouldn't have to pay to mend a repair job that I've already paid for. Then he flat out asked if I was going to pay or not, and I said no - then he started saying "This is America. Nothings free. blah blah"... I had had enough and started putting the shoe away, and then he said "Okay give $5 and I'll fix it right now". Absolutely not, especially after how disrespectful and condescending he was. I walked out and could hear him mocking me to the dry cleaning people in his suite, saying "Free? he wanted me to fix it for FREE!" Avoid this douchebag. read more

i bring all of my shoes and boots here to be repaired. the man who runs it (don't know his name, he doesn't speak english all that well) is very nice and always has a smile. last week i brought a sandal to him with a strap that needed fixing. i was expecting to come back in a week and pay $20. he fixed it on the spot and refused any payment. "too easy" he said. he's reheeled boots, resoled shoes, fixed heels -- all excellent. i recommend this place to everyone i know. read more

Just your average shoe-repair place. $7 to replace the heel on a pair of shoes (like the reviewer below, I don't know the exact term, but the metal was coming out). I had another pair of shoes that needed to be re-soled and that was going to cost $27, which seemed a little on the high side. That was almost what I paid for the shoes so I decided to just toss them instead. Took two days, and ***cash only*** read more

Amazing. Simply put, they repaired the heels of a pair of boots in 10 min, while I waited, for $10. Unreal service. They look like new! Run my two very sweet gentlemen, as well. read more

Excellent Shoe Repair truly lives up to it's name. It's an unassuming shop located in the 25 E Washington building with the Ballys next to 9 West. After going to two other shops that quoted me prices between $35-40 to replace a zipper, I got it done here for 15 bucks...in two hours! I will definitely be back. read more

This place is amazing! I dropped off two pairs of worn and raggedy shoes. They were both like brand new shoes when I picked them up. And the price is incredibly affordable - especially given the quality of work. They really do excellent shoe repair! read more

Love it! My pink Uggs were so sorry looking due to trekking them in the snow and rain (before I realized they werent made for that, doh). So when they got ruined with water and salt stains, I was just using them as a beater pair for my commute. I was embarrassed to wear them with tights and a skirt/dress, instead hiding them under my work pants hem...I took them to this place to check if the guy can clean them, worth a shot. He looked at them and he said he wont be able to make them look totally new but better. I said sure....otherwise I was just gonna toss them. $12 and two days later, I am looking at almost a different pair of uggs, for the better. The water and salt stains are gone so the color is more vibrant (as opposed to ashy). I had some black stains on the top of the boot part (i think theyre from the train or car) and he didnt get them totally out but they were fainter. I was ok with that coz i was more concerned with the damage on the front part of the shoes. I'll be taking my Juicy winter boots here to have the insoles replaced. Glad i found this place! read more

This place is horrible. They use cheap products. I've had the heels on the same pair of boots replaced 3 times in two months at Excellent Shoe Repair. The last time after one wear of walking three blocks the metal/nail of the shoe began to wear through on the heels that Excellent just fixed, and when I took them back he said that happens in a day to all heels. I may not know much, but I do know about heels and the man is full of lies. He uses cheap products. Also, he forgets to fix shoes and will try to give them to you as if they are fixed, so if you insist on going to him double check his work. If you want to pay top prices for cheap products and shoddy work go to Excellent Shoe Repair. read more

They put 3 holes in my Vince blouse, and returned to me without saying anything. I figured out when I got them back at home, so I brought them back to complain. They said they will give me $45 credit for the next dry cleaning instead of giving me a refund or reimbursing for the value of the blouse (which is over $100). Didn't seem sorry at all when I was talking to them. Okay. So I brought a few of my winter coats for dry cleaning next time, since I had $45 credit at the place. However, not surprisingly, they allegedly put a hole on my $2400 Max Mara sports coat AGAIN and did not clean the rest of my clothes and returned. WILL NEVER EVER RETURN TO THIS PLACE. read more

I had been coming here for years for basic repair - shine, new heels and taps and the work was always fine and the price reasonable. I went a few weeks to get taps on 3 shoes and when i got them back they used the strangest shapes and used black taps on light colored soles. won't be going back anymore. read more

Absolutely positively HORRIBLE! Really bad customer service. I took clothes there to be cleaned and when they were returned, the buttons were discolored. Manager stated that he wasn't responsible & did not compensate accordingly. the manager yelled @ me when I did not raise my voice with him, very unprofessional. I will NEVER use this cleaners again. read more

The owner of this shop barely speaks English. When I asked to have a pair of shoes cleaned and protected against water, he just said "ok, ok, ok". I asked if it would change the color and he said "Oh no, no, no". When I came back my shoes were a completely different color and looked & felt as if they had been painted!!! Buyer beware-- find someone who speaks better English. There's a guy around Diversey & Pine Grove who is ok. But this guy will ruin your things and charge you for it! read more

This Place is incredibly great! i love it!!!!! The man working on my heels, flats, & sandals deserves a Gold metal, his name is Jose. His English is not too great but he is not there to talk to you, hes there to do his work! Price was reasonable. I will most definetly come back! no doubt! read more