Thursday, April 24, 2014 Page B1
living
SECTION
B
WhAT’s On? n Dining guiDe n WhAT’s COOking? n ReAl esTATe n ClAssifieD n seRviCe guiDe n Business CARD DiReCTORy
Cobbler carries on family business Photos and artist statement by Marisol Díaz
C
mdiaz@riverdalepress.com
hris Kourakos opened Chris Shoe Repair at 507 West 236 Street in 1968. His father taught him the craft, which he passed on to his son and current owner, George Kourakos. He began learning the art of cobbling during afterschool hours when he was 12. Later in life, he signed up for the NYPD, but was laid off after three years in 1976 during the city’s budget crisis during then-Mayor Abraham Beame’s administration. Around the same time, his father became ill and George took over the business. Chris Kourakos passed away at the age of 66. George Kourakos has updated the equipment he uses at the shoe repair shop, but it still holds many of the original items his father used 46 years ago. When asked if he felt his father’s presence in the location, he simply pointed to a black-and-white photo of the man hanging near the counter.
SHOE STRETCHERS of various sizes are laid out on a shelf, above. GEORGE KOURAKOS repairs a heel on a boot, below. A COBBLER’S tools including a hammer, clippers and spoon, bottom right. THE SIDE OF THE COUNTER at Chris Shoe Repair on 507 West 236th St. bears well wishes from the owner’s son Joey, his daughter Nicole and his niece Kristen, bottom left. A SHOE PRESS machine is used to install a heel.
What’s online?
See more pictures of George Kourakos at work in his shop and hear him describe his craft in an interview on our website, www.riverdalepress.com. 291 PELHAM ROAD
3515 HENRY HUDSON PKWY
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