Heart & Sole: Ira & Son Shoe Repair, 'the original recyclers' relocate

After 37 years, Ira and Brian Freedman moved their business to 298 S. Nova Rd., Suite A, in Ormond Beach.

  • By Michele Meyers
  • | 10:20 a.m. April 18, 2024
  • Ormond Beach Observer
  • Neighbors
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“We are the original recyclers,” Ira Freedman said.

Freedman and his son Brian are cobblers. Together they run the Ira & Son Shoe Repair. Recently, they relocated from the Rivergate Plaza on Granada Boulevard to 298 S. Nova Rd., Suite A, in Ormond Beach where they held their grand opening on Monday, April 15.

As they helped customers and organized the new space during the event, friends and family stopped by to congratulate the pair.

“A very good soft opening,” Ira said. “We’ve done lots of business today already. We filled up the rack with new orders.”

After 37 years at the Rivergate location, they learned that they had 30 days to move their shop. 

Ira said things happen for a reason. He was born in the Year of the Dragon and it happens to be the same Chinese zodiac year now. He said this is his year.

“It’s a good move in the Year of the Dragon,” he said. “It works perfectly. I actually thought I was going to live out the rest of my life in that shopping center but we weren’t part of the master plan.”

The square footage at the current location is double that of the previous space. Brian said the new plaza is nicer, up to code and current specifications.

“This is something I’ve always wanted to do with the shop but I probably wouldn’t have done it as quickly if it weren’t for that other plaza kind of pushing us out,” he said. “It’s a blessing in disguise.”

Ten years ago, Brian took over the day-to-day operations of the business. He said his father laid the groundwork for the shop and nurtured business relationships within the community. Ira was the first owner of a shoe repair shop nationwide to utilize a computer system to print service tickets. He has received multiple awards for his products and systems.

“As far as old shoemakers go, he has been one of the more innovative ones in the bunch,” Brian said. “He laid all that (out) with getting all of the awards and establishing the business in the community. I got to, pretty much, take it over and keep the ship going and build on top of it.”

I know what’s going to happen to me if I stop going. If you rest, you rust. So I’m going to keep going. I’m going to die with my boots on. - Ira Freedman, referring to working at the shop

It seemed natural that one of the Freedman children would step into Ira’s shoes and learn the trade. In 1921, Ira’s grandfather, Sam Freedman, opened the family’s original store in Detroit and named it Hot Sam’s. His father Bob “Sonny” Freedman followed in his footsteps. At the age of 12 years old, Ira began working in the shop every Saturday to save money for his bar mitzvah. 

“You have to start with a good work ethic,” he said. “Once you have a good work ethic you can do anything you want.”

He went to Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana then continued his trajectory toward running the family business by attending a shoe repair trade school in Queens, New York. At the age of 35 years old, he began to learn the fine nuances of the business and eventually took it over.

After a difficult divorce, he sold the business and moved to Ormond Beach where his parents had a house on Ocean Shore Blvd. He said he came for the beach and probably stayed for the motorcycles.

In the early 1980s, Ira and his father went to the Orange Park Mall. They stopped to watch a shoe repair shop that was set inside a wall. There were six men working there and they were making $7 sales — one right after another. Ira said his dad elbowed him and told him he could do that — keep that register ringing. With his dad’s help, the  Ira & Son Shoe Repair opened two years later.

Brian was born in Ormond Beach, attended Tomoka Elementary, Ormond Beach Middle School, then Mainland High School. He attended the University of Central Florida for two years where he did not find a field of study that resonated with him. In his early twenties, he returned to learn how to run the family business.

Brian said he hopes to be running the business for 37 more years. The community keeps them busy with standard repairs. He wants to tap into customizing and eventually, capture some of the internet market.

“With Ormond’s community, our volume is already very high,” he said. “We stay very busy so it’s one of those things where I’d like to do an online store but it’s not like I don’t have anything to do here.”

Ormond Beach resident, Gloria Altavilla, has been taking her shoes to the shop for about 30 years. She has approximately 70 ball-heeled shoes that Ira has repaired.

“All of the shoes that I’ve got have at least had his attention one time,” she said. “I’ve taken them places and they won't touch them. Nobody else would touch these shoes.”

Cobbler Gabriel Herman assists the Freedmans with the workload. They currently offer heel and sole repair, leather restoration, customization and a variety of specialty services. Even though his son has taken over the business, Ira said he is never going to stop doing the work.

“I know what’s going to happen to me if I stop going,” Ira said. “If you rest, you rust. So I’m going to keep going. I’m going to die with my boots on.”

 

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