Neighborhood Side Streets

Jim’s Shoe Repair - 50 EAST 59th STreetStepping inside Jim’s Shoe Repair is like walking into a time capsule. At first glance, it appears that nothing has changed since the store opened in 1932. Wooden saloon-style booths line the wall opposite shoeshine chairs with golden footrests and leather backrests. Jim’s is the place for the customer who wants “the best shoe shine” with a bit of small talk or a glance through the daily newspapers.

Jim, 84, is the son of the original owner. His father, also Jim, left Italy for the U.S. in his late 1920s and started the store soon thereafter. Their business has not changed much since its inception, and many of the workers have been there for more than twenty-five years.

Fischer Bros. & Leslie, which has been in business since 1949, has proudly served three, sometimes four generations of families. Vice president and partner Paul Whitman has gotten to know most of them throughout his tenure with the shop, thanks in part to their commitment to the house account system. Fischer Bros. & Leslie does take cash, checks, and the occasional credit card, and it does have a website, but Paul encourages everyone to open a house account. “You get to know the people this way,” he says.

The full-service kosher butcher shop prepares a large variety of Jewish favorites in-house, including their matzo ball soup.

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