Plight Of LI Shoe Cobbler Struggling In Pandemic Touches Hearts

RIVERHEAD, NY — March 20 will mark 50 years that Fred Ruvolo has owned his shop, The Village Cobbler, in Riverhead.

The shop, located at 149 Griffing Avenue, is a step back in time, the walls lined with shoes and dozens of styles of laces, a testament to his years of service to his clientele.

But the past year hasn't been easy for Ruvolo: He, like so many, has been struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic. And when Penelope Moore of Shelter Island came into his shop recently, she knew she had to help.

Moore was in her basement when she found an old pair of boots that needed repair. Unsure of where to even find a shoemaker in today's world, she did an online search and found Ruvolo's business. She brought the boots and when she came back to retrieve them, saw that Ruvolo was sitting in the back of the shop alone.

"I said, 'So it's just you and all these shoes?' He said, 'With the pandemic and the courts closed —and sometimes winter is slower than other times of the year — I'm really hurting. I'm kind of worried.'"

Moore, who works in sales, sprang into action, taking photos of Ruvolo and posting about his plight on social media.

"The Village Cobbler is located at 149 Griffing Avenue in Riverhead," she wrote. "He told me today he is worried because his business is slow. I told him I would spread the word so people bring their shoes in. He was cheery today, however — and on top of everything else, he did a fantastic job with new soles and heels on a pair of boots. Please help this little business in a trade that is quickly going by the wayside. He sharpens ice skates, too."

Her post touched hearts and has been shared more than 4,400 times so far.

Reflecting on his business, Ruvolo said he's owned the shop since he was just 19 years old. He was born in Deer Park and had begun working in shoe repair when he was just 14. When he was in college, he decided he wanted his own business and found the space in Riverhead.

The previous owner had died, he said, and the supplier didn't want to move the machines, "so he gave me the opportunity to sign a note," Ruvolo said.

Ruvolo credited his Riverhead landlord at the time, Fenimore Meyer, for giving him a chance. "He said, 'This town can use a good repairman,'" Ruvolo said. They talked about the rent and Meyer asked him if "$85 a month sounded good. I said, 'I don't know if I can afford that,' and he said, 'Make it $65 until you can afford it,'" he said.

Over the years, the business flourished with customers coming from the North and South Forks and towns across Long Island. A full-service shop, Ruvolo fixes many things besides shoes, including pocketbooks, belts, horse gear, airplane and car parts, tennis nets, trampolines, and even umbrellas.

"If I can do it and do it properly, I will," Ruvolo said. "As long as I can get a good outcome. I will only fix things worth fixing. Some people think I can fix everything but I can't."

Instead, Ruvolo evaluates whether an item can be fixed before he tells a customer he can be of service. "People work hard for their money and I work hard for mine," he said. He doesn't want customers picking up a repaired item only to have it break again right away.

His sense of integrity was instilled by his parents, said Ruvolo, who was one of seven children.

"It was the old school way of doing things," he said. "Your handshake was your bond. If you didn't have anything nice to say, you didn't say anything."

Those values are often sorely missing in recent days, Ruvolo said.

For years, customers have come back to Ruvolo for his workmanship, frequenting the type of small business that is too often fading from the proverbial landscape.

"There are generations of families," Ruvolo said. "Nothing makes you feel older than when someone says, 'My mother used to bring me here in my baby carriage.'" He laughed.

His career path has always been fulfilling, Ruvolo said. "I wake up every morning feeling pretty good," he said. "Being able to say you're in charge of your own destiny, which I have been, my whole life, is a joyful thing. When I was growing up, the American dream was that you would be able to succeed at anything as long as you applied yourself. You weren't looking for a handout, you were looking for a hand up."

Meyer, he said, gave him that hand up. And throughout his life, Ruvolo has remembered those early life lessons.

"I try to treat people the way I like to be treated," Ruvolo said. "I start with treating people with respect and dignity."

The most important thing, Ruvolo said, is the quality of his repairs. "That's my reputation," he said. "I'm not here to make a dollar. I'm here to help people."

The pandemic has hit hard, Ruvolo said. Located near the courthouse in Riverhead, much of his walk-in trade was based on lawyers, jurors, and court officers — and with the courts closed, that business just fell off.

"Everything is done on Zoom and the internet," said Ruvolo, who does not have social media accounts or even a cell phone. Even the clientele from points west have stopped coming, as have many of his Town Hall customers. "It affects you," he said.

And the pandemic brought an even more devastating loss: In April, his mother Rose Ruvolo, died. Although she had other health issues, Covid-19 was a contributing factor, he said.

"My mother was the most well-loved person," he said. "Even though we weren't able to mourn her properly, with no church service, there was a procession, and I lost count at 75 cars. She was one of the nicest people you could ever meet. She wasn't just my mom; she was everyone's mom."

Despite the difficult past months, Ruvolo, married for 37 years to his wife Natalie, remains hopeful. "You have to keep going, absolutely. You have to look on the bright side. Things are getting better. People are starting to get the vaccine. One of the nicest comments is when customers walk in and say, 'I feel normal again.'"

And customers who enter find a shop seemingly untouched by time. "It's like a time warp, a time bubble here," he said. "I'm the way it used to be."

As for Moore, she's continuing to spread the word. "There's something about him that really touched me," she said. "He takes such pride in his work. And you walk in there and smell the shoe polish. It's like the memories of when you were a kid."

Moore said she was stunned by the outpouring of support for Ruvolo. "It is a real credit to our community that within 24 hours of my posting the photo on Facebook and saying that the Village Cobbler’s business was hurting because of the pandemic, more than 4,000 people shared the post and began collecting their shoes to bring to him. Losing someone like him would be a big blow to our area — so I hope we all can give him enough shoes to repair to keep him busy for a long time."