VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Meet the soul repairing thousands of soles
Parmelee: In downtown Syracuse, behind stacks of worn leather and weathered soles, you’ll find Ralph Rotella.
“Hammering mixed with Italian music”
“Ralph whistling while working”
Parmelee: For 47 years, these skilled hands have been creating small miracles – where scuffed soles and broken heels get a second chance.
Rotella: They bring the love, I do the magic.
Parmelee: Randy Beach, now working alongside his longtime friend, has wittnessed countless performances of Ralph’s magic.
Beach: He’s probably one of the most kind, generous… he’s one of a kind. He’s got a heart as big as gold and he’ll do anything for anybody.
Parmelee : Here at Discount Shoe Repair on South Salina Street, thousands of shoes line these walls, each with their own story. But if shoes could talk, they’d tell you about the man who’s been bringing them back to life for nearly five decades. And they might also tell you about the thousands of pairs that have found new life through his generosity.
Rotella: If the shoes, they can talk, they will say, you know, like I said, wow Ralph, you did a good job. I can’t believe you bring me back to life.
Parmelee: But behind the practiced craft of repair works lies a deeper story of kindness. 13 years ago, Ralph noticed something beyong the busy shelves of his repair shop.
Rotella: It was a cold day, and this guy go by… I bet you wear size 10. I went in the back. I find nice pair of boots.
Parmelee: That single act of kindness grew into something bigger. Since then, Ralph’s shoe store has donated a quarter of a million pairs to the rescue mission, with last year alone bringing in 38,000 pairs.
Parmelee: From Broadway performers to generations of Syracuse families, each customer’s footware adds another chapter to Ralph’s story.
Rotella: We don’t make a lot of money over here, but we have a lot of fun.
Parmelee: In this downtown workshop, where Italian melodies mix with the sound of repair, Ralph Rotella has mastered more than his craft. He isn’t just fixing shoes – he’s leaving his mark on Syracuse, one sole at a time.
Parmelee: From downtown Syracuse, Arwen Parmelee, NCC News.
Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) — Countless pairs of damaged shoes have found new life at Discount Shoe Repair, thanks to the skilled hands of Ralph Rotella. For nearly five decades, the Italian-born cobbler has delighted customers with his craftsmanship, mending soles and heels in his downtown Syracuse shop.
With Italian melodies on the radio and the rhythmic tapping of his hammer, Rotella has created a community where he’s known not just as a shoe repairman, but as a treasured friend to customers and all local residents alike.
“They bring the love. I do the magic,” Rotella said.
That magic has impacted more than just customers. A spontaneous act of kindness on a cold day 13 years ago has led to an annual shoe drive through the Syracuse Rescue Mission, providing footwear to over 250,000 people, Rotella proudly said. A staggering 38,000 pairs of shoes were collected last year alone.
A companion of Rotella, Randy Beach, has worked alongside him after retiring. He delights in helping Rotella with daily projects and running the shop smoothly.
“He’s got a heart as big as gold,” said Beach.
Rotella’s reputation precedes him in the best way as he continues to serve multiple generations of local families, Broadway performers and everyone in between with his footwear expertise. The shop is a living museum, full of countless stories and Syracuse history in its stacked floor-to-ceiling shelves, full of all kinds of shoes waiting to be repaired.
“We don’t make a lot of money over here, but we have a lot of fun,” Rotella said.
Discount Shoe Repair will remain a constant amid the rapidly evolving downtown Syracuse. Its uniqueness lies within not only the shop’s owner, but with every person who walks through the front door, contributing to the legacy Rotella has built. For him, each repair is fixing more than just a sole; it’s about changing lives, one step at a time.