But never fear, Bennetts Footwear Repairs is only popping around the corner.
The company will move its cobbler’s workshop from its long-time Tay St home to the former Donald Buckley Photo and Frame store, in Don St.
The aged walls of the business’ 60sq m workshop are covered in dust and decades of history.
If they could speak, they would possibly tell their own stories of the shop that has been part of Invercargill’s fringe CBD for more than six decades.
The larger building has hosted many businesses which have come and gone during the decades. But Bennetts has held the fort since 1957.
Valet Drycleaning also spent many years operating from the Tay St site, until its operation was bought out by another century-old Southland business, McCallum Drycleaning.
The Salvation Army Family Store did a short stint in the small adjacent shop until it outgrew its premises.
The move was something that had been on the mind of owner Hamish Murie for a long time.
But the right opportunity needed to present itself, and when Donald Buckley’s came up he knew instinctively it was the right move to make, he said.
Cobbler shops were rare in Southland, which made it easy for Bennetts to corner the market on shoe and bag repairs, he said.
Mr Murie could recall the early days working after school for founder Ted Bennett. Shoe repairs were collected by bicycle from the surrounding shoe shops.
Invercargill had 22 shoe repair shops between the 1960s and 1980s, possibly because people walked to destinations more than they did now, he said.
As a first-day tenant of the Tay St building, Mr Bennett remained at the helm until 1996, when he sold the business to Mr Murie, his former apprentice, who was only 23 years old at the time.
Over the decades, Mr Bennett mentored seven apprentice cobblers and many other young people.
He taught them the value of hard work, Mr Murie said.
‘‘He was a good teacher of the trade and life. He taught me you have to treat your customers the way they want to be treated and always try to provide a good service to people.’’
Being passionate about his work and great customer service was still what motivated him to work a regular 12-hour day, Mr Murie said.
‘‘It’s not just a business. It’s a job I like to do.’’
