Best of 2000: Best Place To Rejuvenate Stressed-Out Soles

The Computerized Cobbler
13 Horton Plaza, Downtown
(619) 231-3736

The shop sits on the exterior of Horton Plaza, fronting First Avenue at F Street. Businessmen on lunch breaks come in with the day's paper and kick up their feet while their shoes are repaired. The aroma of glue is in the air; in the back of the store, Chris Ashley, the owner, is prying off soles, sanding, gluing, and stitching. For $39.95, a full sole can be fixed on a men's shoe in about 45 minutes, $15.95 for a women's half-sole. Routine heel replacement takes only ten minutes and costs $9.95 for men, $8.95 or less for women. Compare that to spending anywhere from $150 to $350 on a new pair of quality shoes down the street at Nordstrom.