Shoeshine Businesses Disappearing in the U.S.
2023-03-06
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1Penn Station Shoe Repair and Shoe Shine is a small shoeshining business in New York City.
2On a recent weekday, customers sat down at the shoeshine business and pulled out newspapers and phones to read while their shoes got shined.
3The shoeshiners cleaned the footwear and added an oily substance to protect the shoes' leather material.
4When finished, the customers paid eight dollars for the work.
5A sign hanging at the little business reads, "We're not God, but we do save soles."
6Shoeshining has a long history in the United States, dating back hundreds of years.
7But today, the tradition of getting a quick shine is weakening.
8Shoeshine stands are disappearing in cities and towns across the country.
9The COVID-19 pandemic intensified the business decline.
10More people work from home than in the past.
11And it has become popular to wear more casual work clothes.
12All this means fewer customers for shoeshining businesses.
13Nisan Khaimov owns the Penn Station stand.
14He said his stand would shine 80 to 100 shoes each workday before the pandemic.
15Now it is between 30 to 50 from Tuesday to Thursday and even fewer on Mondays and Fridays.
16The work-from-home model that is common across America is hurting his business.
17"Until people come back to work, the problems will not be solved," said Khaimov.
18Rory Heenan is a 38-year-old accountant from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
19He said as a young boy he would take the train with his father on his way to work one Friday each month and watch him get a shoeshine.
20"I would just sit here as a little guy, you know, observing," he said.
21"And here I am, you know, 30 years later, doing the same thing. So, it's certainly something that's passed down over time."
22Across town, Jairo Cardenas is also feeling the losses.
23Business at Alpha Shoes Repair Corporation is down 75 percent from before the pandemic.
24His business used to shine 60 or 70 shoes a day.
25Now, on a good day, he shines shoes for 10 to 15 customers.
26Shoe repairs generally bring in more money than shines.
27At David Mesquita's Leather Spa, which operates five shoe repair and shine businesses in the area, the repairs are the major part of its sales.
28But shoeshines are still an important offering to bring people in as most shoe repair businesses do not have the service.
29Before the pandemic, Leather Spa had four shoeshine chairs at its business inside New York's Grand Central Terminal.
30It employed six shoeshiners.
31Together, they would complete about 120 shines a day.
32Now, there are three shoeshiners who do 40 or 50 shines a day at most.
33But Mesquita is seeing people slowly coming back.
34His December 2022 shoeshine numbers were up 52 percent compared with December 2021.
35"Traffic is slowly coming back in, we're seeing the commuters come in and everything, but we're still not back 100 percent of what we were," Mesquita said.
36He added that shoeshining is not something that will ever fully go away.
37"People like to treat themselves," he said, "whether it's once a week or twice a week or, you know, once every two weeks. It's just nice."
38I'm Caty Weaver.
1Penn Station Shoe Repair and Shoe Shine is a small shoeshining business in New York City. On a recent weekday, customers sat down at the shoeshine business and pulled out newspapers and phones to read while their shoes got shined. The shoeshiners cleaned the footwear and added an oily substance to protect the shoes' leather material. When finished, the customers paid eight dollars for the work. 2A sign hanging at the little business reads, "We're not God, but we do save soles." 3Shoeshining has a long history in the United States, dating back hundreds of years. But today, the tradition of getting a quick shine is weakening. Shoeshine stands are disappearing in cities and towns across the country. 4The COVID-19 pandemic intensified the business decline. More people work from home than in the past. And it has become popular to wear more casual work clothes. All this means fewer customers for shoeshining businesses. 5Nisan Khaimov owns the Penn Station stand. He said his stand would shine 80 to 100 shoes each workday before the pandemic. Now it is between 30 to 50 from Tuesday to Thursday and even fewer on Mondays and Fridays. The work-from-home model that is common across America is hurting his business. 6"Until people come back to work, the problems will not be solved," said Khaimov. 7Rory Heenan is a 38-year-old accountant from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He said as a young boy he would take the train with his father on his way to work one Friday each month and watch him get a shoeshine. 8"I would just sit here as a little guy, you know, observing," he said. "And here I am, you know, 30 years later, doing the same thing. So, it's certainly something that's passed down over time." 9Across town, Jairo Cardenas is also feeling the losses. Business at Alpha Shoes Repair Corporation is down 75 percent from before the pandemic. His business used to shine 60 or 70 shoes a day. Now, on a good day, he shines shoes for 10 to 15 customers. 10Shoe repairs generally bring in more money than shines. At David Mesquita's Leather Spa, which operates five shoe repair and shine businesses in the area, the repairs are the major part of its sales. But shoeshines are still an important offering to bring people in as most shoe repair businesses do not have the service. 11Before the pandemic, Leather Spa had four shoeshine chairs at its business inside New York's Grand Central Terminal. It employed six shoeshiners. Together, they would complete about 120 shines a day. Now, there are three shoeshiners who do 40 or 50 shines a day at most. 12But Mesquita is seeing people slowly coming back. His December 2022 shoeshine numbers were up 52 percent compared with December 2021. 13"Traffic is slowly coming back in, we're seeing the commuters come in and everything, but we're still not back 100 percent of what we were," Mesquita said. 14He added that shoeshining is not something that will ever fully go away. 15"People like to treat themselves," he said, "whether it's once a week or twice a week or, you know, once every two weeks. It's just nice." 16I'm Caty Weaver. 17____________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19customer -n. one that buys a product or service 20sole -n. the part of a shoe on which the bottom of the foot rests. 21decline -n. to become less in amount 22commuter -n. to travel from home and back on a usual basis for work (often between a suburb and a city) 23What kinds of small businesses are common where you live? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 24Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.