- May 5, 2024
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Ira Freedman said he’s been saving soles for 31 years.
He’s also saved a lot of heels, and he has enjoyed helping customers at his shoe repair shop, Ira and Son Shoe Repair, in Rivergate Plaza at the corner of West Granada Boulevard and Nova Road.
Customers have enjoyed his energetic personality.
“I drive up here to see Ira,” said Leonard Darling, explaining why he has been making the trip from Port Orange for many years.
Now, Brian Freedman said he hopes to keep the business going another 30 years as his dad, now 66, enters into retirement over the next couple of years.
“It’s a job I’ve grown to love,” the son said. “It’s not a dying trade but a growing field, where people will want to keep their beloved shoes out of the landfills.”
His dad agrees, saying, “We are the original recyclers.”
Brian Freedman attended Mainland High School and University of Central Florida. He always enjoyed working with his hands and helping out at the shoe shop during school breaks.
“Brian is ready to take this industry into the 22nd century,” his dad said.
It’s a busy shop, with two employees working in the back and a stream of customers being greeted by Mollie, a small, friendly black dog. Having a dog in a shoe repair shop is a long-standing tradition, the Freedmans say.
REPAIRING NEW SHOES
The Freedmans help people keep their shoes by gluing them back together or making other necessary repairs, and they can also improve the fit by stretching or otherwise modifying them. As the years go on, shoes are increasingly being made overseas and lack the quality of the past.
“We’re busier now than ever before,” Ira Freedman said.
“We are the original recyclers.”
IRA FREEDMAN, owner, Ira and Son Shoe Repair
For expensive, well-made shoes, the Freedmans help the owners protect their investment by making the shoes last.
On one wall are polishes and other care products, while the other wall features many types of insoles and other items to improve fit.
“If you have a good foundation, you can build a skyscraper,” Ira Freedman said. “Having the right shoes helps you have the right posture.”
They also repair other leather products, such as handbags and belts.
SLIPPING INTO THE BUSINESS
There was one venture of Freedman's that did not turn out well. About 20 years ago, Freedman decided to sell shoes, so he opened a place next door. However, it didn’t work with having twice the overhead and not enough additional business.
Ira Freedman moved to Ormond Beach from Detroit in the early 1980s. He worked as a tailor but wanted to start his own business and work directly with people. He became interested in the shoe business when he got a pair of beloved shoes repaired.
“I said, ‘I can do that,’” he said.
He apprenticed at a couple of shops in town and also traveled to Manhattan to attend a 90-day school in shoe repair.
Brian Freedman looks forward to running the business and sees a promising future helping people bring shoes back to life. Business remains steady even when the economy sinks.
“It’s been a very consistent business,” he said.
Call 677-8818.
