By Tanya Cronin

‘Poor soles’ recovered from abandoned Kamloops shoe repair shop

Jun 18, 2018 | 4:58 PM

KAMLOOPS — For years people have been bringing their broken shoes, belts and purses to JJ’s Shoe Repair on the North Shore. But after the shop suddenly closed its doors last year, customers have struggled to get their items back. Months of complaints have prompted the North Shore Business Improvement Association to step in, seizing close to 700 pairs of shoes from the abandoned store on Tranquille Road. The business association is sorting through piles of shoes, in an effort to reunite the footwear with their rightful owners.

Boots made for walking — you would think. But in the case of a Kamloops shoe repair shop, they have wandered far far away.  

“When I came on stream in January, we started getting calls right away about how do I get my shoes back, how do I get my shoes back,” says Jeremy Heighton, executive director of North Shore Business Improvement Association.

Hundreds of pairs of lost soles from JJ’s Shoe Repair now stand here at The Wilson Street House. The North Shore Business Improvement Association seized the footwear on June 13th, after the shop abruptly shut down.

“My understanding is JJ got sicker, sicker, sicker until at some point he just lost interest in or ability to respond to the store,” says Heighton. “JJ finally decided to completely shutter the business and declare bankruptcy for the business which means the building owner took possession of the assets and within a couple of days of that happening we had the shoes out.”

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JJ’s Shoe Repair closed in November of last year, and the business owner virtually disappeared. Customers were given no notice, and for months people have been wondering what’s become of the footwear they thought they would so easily be able to get back.  

“We’re thinking somewhere around 600 or 700 now that we’ve got them sorted, we think we’ve got everything out of the business although we’ve got a few phone calls this morning saying I’m looking for this, I’m looking for that, we haven’t seen it so we’ll have to make a list of other items.”

Everything from high heels, runners, work boots and even rollerblades fill this basement. In an effort to make a negative story into something more uplifting, shoe owners can make a donation to the local United Way upon claiming their footwear. Just make sure to be honest. 

“Some are tagged and some are on the honour system, some of these shoes are not in the best shape so I suspect they’re not just going to run off, I think what’s going to happen is people will come in and honestly claim their shoes.” 

Repair machines at JJ’s will remain quiet, and even though many of these poor soles are still falling apart, at least they’ll once again have a leg to stand on, and a chance to find the right fit.

“We suspect in the next 30 days most of the shoes should be taken out, somewhere in mid-July we’ll make a judgement call, I suspect what’s left here may not be worth picking up by that point in time, so we’ll make a judgement call,” says Heighton.