Town Cobbler featured in Boston Globe
Posted by Common on Mar 7, 2010 in Profile • No comments
From the Boston Globe, March 7, 2010
Chin up: The few, the proud, the holdouts
By Mark Pothier
Some fields are thinning fast, but if — like these intrepid folks — you’ve got drive, flexibility, and a competitive spirit, you can endure in the job you love.
After more than 20 years in the wholesale fruit business, Tom Belluardo’s career had stalled. With prospects for promotion dim, he decided to learn an occupation that offered more potential: cobbler.
You might not expect a lot of demand for a shoe-repair guy in a world where people toss out footwear nearly as often as they change socks. But there is some demand — enough for Belluardo to secure a slice of a niche business for the last two decades. His Methuen shop, The Town Cobbler, thrives on a base of customers that prefers to get quality shoes fixed instead of tromping around in cheap plastic heels with the life expectancy of paper coffee filters
