Top notch service & quality! The owner is attentive, personable, professional and adorable. He is the real deal

He claimed that my Cole Haan leather soles aren't the kind that get repaired anymore. Since when? Since the previous generation of cobblers retired? read more

I walked into Al's Shoe Service not expecting what was about to happen!! excellent service and excellent entertainment! read more

I had some parches put on a Motorcycle jacket and the work was done very well in a reasonable time frame. The owner Larry was a great guy and enjoyed talking to him. This is also a veteran owned business . read more

Repaired straps on a pair of sandals, well designed but cheaply made. Took care of the problem while I waited for less than I expected. A good experience. read more

I just dropped off my boots and the experience was already fantastic!! What a wonderful time visiting with Larry and he makes it so delightful you dont ever want to leave! If the boots turn out as well as the conversation I am sure I will be thrilled read more

Friendly owner. Excellent quality school shop. Hard to find someone with the skills and equipment to refurnish quality shoes. Very satisfied read more

Larry is delightful. He remembers your name. He gives you a reasonable estimate up front. He listens to what you'd like done. When I was there he agreed to do some work outside of his normal scope on some guy's wallet. He gets it done fast. He does quality work. It's worth it even though it might cost a bit more, you can keep those high quality shoes that you love in working order. read more

The best cobbler in Illinois...no, sorry the USA! Not only is he great but he is an amazing personality. He will play the flute for you and he is just the most fun!. He is really kind person too, who has a wonderful story about following in his dad's footsteps. You will feel so welcome when you visit! His two assistants, Joy D. and (forgive me as I forgot her name), are fantastic too. He is just all around fabulous and his years of dedication and hard work for his craft are evident when you back your shoes all polished and shiny! I wouldn't go anywhere else....ever! :) read more

Larry is an expert craftsman, truly does great work and cares about his customers. He repaired my leather work bag while I waited, charged a reasonable fee, and even played some music when he finished. He greeted his customers by name and made sure they were happy with his work. A nice guy who deserves my highest recommendation. read more

Larry is a terrific person as well as an expert craftsman. NEVER hesitate to be a customer!

I have taken the same 2 pairs of boots to Al's Shoe Service, he has made them look new! He has extended the life of both pairs at least 3-4 years. Very good business super talented I highly recommend. read more

Great service. Boots repaired quickly, well and at a reasonable cost. I saved money because Larry repaired my boots and I didn't need to buy new ones read more

Al's Shoe Shop is a wonderful experience. It is worth the visit, find shoes in need of repair and bring them in ! Al's has been in Mount Prospect for years, but recently moved to a new location, the Mt, Prospect Train Station. I dropped off a pair of boots in need of new heels a week ago. When I walked in there were 4 other customers and Larry had us introduce ourselves to one another and after 30 minutes we all were chatting as if we were lifelong friends. Larry is Al's son and they have been in business for decades. There was a wonderful article in the Daily Herald on Feb. 14, 2022 about Larry and the business. I was glad to see he received well deserved recognition for his skill and craft. When I went to pick up by boots, I had my husband come with me, since he is a history buff and has never been in the store. Larry welcomed us and willingly told us the history of his business and pointed out many of the items in the store that are true antiques. Larry is an accomplished flutist, so it is not a surprise if he plays or sings for you, just an added bonus. There are not many shoe repair options, so the price may be higher than what I remember years ago, but the work is very high quality. Visiting the store is taking a step back into time and a truly wonderful and heartwarming experience. read more

It is definitely the most interesting store and the service is top notch. He repaired my favorite black leather bag for me and if and when I have more needs, I will for sure return. read more

Come get your shoes repaired, stay for the solo concerto! Larry is top notch and Mount Prospect is lucky to have such an incredible shop in the heart of downtown. Picked up a pair of shoes with my daughter that Larry was fixing. Shoes looked brand new again after dropping them off in pretty rough shape. What happened next will be etched in my mind forever. Larry asked my daughter what her favorite song was, of course being 8, she responded with, "Anything Taylor Swift!"! The next thing I knew he had a Taylor Swift song playing on his speaker, which he was accompanying with his flute; all while my daughter and I were dancing along in his shop. Larry, we are "enchanted" to have you in Mount Prospect!!! read more

Is Mike S. just angry and out of touch with reality on his review of Al's Shoe Service? I would have to say most definitely. Do you see all five stars for reviews on Al's including this one? Heck yes!! Do you see only two reviews from Mike and they are both bitter 1 stars. Looks like someone likes to complain and take his frustration on life out on Yelp. In all of my years on this planet, paying for service at places, I can say I have seen some horrific customer service with individuals who don't care even a tiny bit about how they treat people. I have to say that Al's Shoe Service is probably one of the only places that I trust, that does honest work at a fair price, confident in his skills, always pleasant to deal with and will do what it takes to make his customers happy. I would recommend this show repair spot to anyone. I would not listen to 1 bad review from a bitter, out of touch individual that obviously hates life itself. I don't think twice about taking my shoes or my Louis Vuitton purses to Al's for repair and we all know how expensive and cherished a women's Louis Vuittons are. ;) If you want to be treated like family and have a great job done at a great price then go to Al's. It is difficult to find a man that loves his work as much as he loves his customers. You can't find honesty and hard work anymore when it comes to service, but here you can. read more

Quality service at a reasonable price. If you are lucky, Larry will play some jazz flute for you! He wowed us with a very swinging version of "Fly Me to the Moon." read more

I needed a repair done on my umpire plate shoes which another shop said they couldn't do. Larry repaired my shoes while I waited. He was taught by his father and his store is filled with photos and artifacts from his long family history of cobblers. Our conversation then turned to music and he accompanied on flute a song he pulled up from YouTube. The repair was done perfectly and reasonably priced especially having been done on the spot while I waited. Highly recommend. read more

Friendly service $18 to fix a zipper of a bag is a bit much but I paid with tip to support a local business Note: Make sure you have time to linger because you will be treated to a flute performance and a lot of talk read more

First time at the shop with my wife bringing shoes for repair. WOW! interesting day. Besides the great service we were also entertained with his music. I could not resist and charmed in with a Boccelli song. It was a joyful event. I highly recommend this shoe repair shop! Great people and fun time. Nice to be part of it!! read more

I got soles and heels on a pair I had considered tossing. They looked considerably newer when I came to pick them up. Prices are higher, but it was a whole lot more reasonable than buying a new pair! read more

I needed my boots stretched, and he did it perfectly on the first try. He offered to stretch them again for free if I came back within 10 days, but that was never necessary. I got a "free song," which meant he was generous enough to play his flute for me, and he told me about the history of his shop. He even polished them for free. Great place. read more

Unfortunately the address on the Yelp site was wrong. There is a construction site where the buildilng used to be. A passerby directed me to their new location which is in the Mt. Prospect train station on Northwest Highway. The shop is well marked when you go to the station. Larry is a terrifice shoe repair guy and it's very interesting and a lot of fun to go there. I took and old favorite purse about to be thrown out and he worked his magic on it and it is as good as new. Julie K read more

Here is another five star review for Al's I brought in a vintage purse . He repaired it while I waited . will definitely return . What a nice, interesting man .Had the pleasure of meeting his daughters as well. .Thank you Yelpers you rarely let me down . #shoplocal read more

Brought my favorite shoes back to life! Only took a few days and the service was amazing. Thanks Larry read more

Al's Shoe Service - Before - Shoe Repair Near Me - Mount Prospect, Illinois

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We have a few pairs of our shoes repaired here in the past few years and we have always been happy with the service and product. Even we have moved further away now, I still insist to bring my shoes back here to repair. They do not take credit cards, cash and check only! :) read more

Al's Shoe Service - Shoe Repair Near Me - Mount Prospect, Illinois

This is a second generation shoe business (Al was Larry's father) and it shows. The place is fantastic! Shoe accessories fill both walls and the leather waiting chair, that I comfortably occupied while Larry recessitated my shoes, was in his dad's waiting area years ago. Everything there is historic and visually engaging. PLUS (added bonus) he is a musician and plays the flute in his own band and travels around as a guest artist playing with other noted area bands. It does not take much coaxing to get him to play a quick tune and I highly advise it! It'll be the most interesting visit to a shoe shop you've ever experienced! read more

Larry is a great guy! Always in high spirits and he knows his shoes! He did a re-glue job on some shoes I can't let go of, but also gave me some recommendations for higher quality shoes. I will be taking my business to him from here on out! read more

Amazing! Amazing Amazing! Larry is a life saver and a super man! I am so impressed yet again with his service and end product. He resurrected a pair of shoes that were destroyed by a "professional" shoe shiner in the city. Check out the before and after photos attached. If you don't use Al's Shoe Service for your cobbler needs --you need to!!! read more

Al's Shoe Service - Before - Shoe Repair Near Me - Mount Prospect, Illinois

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So glad we found Larry and his long owned family business! He did an amazing job fixing my husbands shoes, as now they are like new. Price was fair and he did exceptional work. I especially liked how he explained everything beforehand. read more

Al's Shoe Service - Shoe Repair Near Me - Mount Prospect, Illinois

Very happy with the meticulous repair of the heels on a pair of boots I love that no one else seemed able to fix. Thank you so much!

Larry performed a miracle on my boots. He repaired my Alden Indy boots by replacing the heel and he put a few stitches in the tongue of the boot to hold it up right. They look like new! He also replaced the heel on my Frye engineer boots. I've had both pairs of boots for over 7 years and they are restored and looking great! I cannot finish a review without mentioning Larry's talent for the flute. He played for our whole family. He's very talented and friendly. I forget the other woman's name who works with him but she could not have been any sweeter. Here's a good local business you can trust to repair quality shoes. (pro tip: If your shoes weren't good quality to start with just throw them away.) read more

Great, high quality service with small business prices! You can't beat it here. They don't make people like Larry anymore! Incredibly welcoming and will even play you a song on his flute if you are lucky. Will be back! read more

This is the best service I have ever received!! I had to fix a hand bag, I understood they don't, but the owner, Larry, said he will take a look. I arrived before closing, not only he fixed my bag in 5 minutes, he also sang 3 songs to me and played the flute and he was accompanied by his friend- the shoebox drummer A very warm hug from the owner and I felt part of the family! My bag looks like new and he also wiped it with conditioner. Perfect! Recommended! read more

As one of the reviewer's pointed out, "Al will play the flute for you". That's true. In fact, it seems Al would rather play the flute than wait on his customers. When I arrived, during business hours, I spoke to his assistant (Bridgett) about the shoe repair I needed to have done (Al was too busy playing the flute to wait on me personally). She said she wasn't sure of the price or if the repair could even be done and I would have to, "wait until Al was finished playing his flute". I walked out. I've been there twice before for repairs but I will never go back. If Al would rather play the flute than service his customers I'll find someplace else that values my business. read more

I found this repair shop on Yelp and thought I would check it out. It took about 10 minutes for the owner to even take a look at my shoes that I needed to have fixed. He first was telling me about the history of the store and then had me do a ritual that every new customer does. This is fine since I was in no hurry but I was irritated to find after all that, he took a half glance at my boots and said there was nothing he could do. I feel like this was a waste of my time. read more

I'm so glad other Yelpers helped me find Al's Shoe Service! Being fairly new to the NW suburbs, I didn't know where to take my favorite pair of boots after losing a heel. Searching for a local cobbler with outstanding reviews, I saw what people were saying about Larry (the owner of Al's Shoe Service) and knew he was the one. All of the wonderful reviews are true! He is quite the character, incredibly personable and helpful, as well as being a great craftsman (my shoes won't be finished for a few more days but he showed me work he was doing on others). He also provided me with some really cool trivia about my name, which my mother wasn't even aware of, and performed a flute solo of Autumn Leaves. Such a cool experience!! read more

What a gem! Larry, the owner, is so friendly and even put on a flute performance for my music-loving toddler. (And what's really charming is that it sounds like he does this for almost everyone!) Brought in a couple of vintage purses for repair and was please with the price, speed and quality of work. read more

Larry (Al's son, Al is deceased) is not only a fabulous shoe repairman, but a really neat guy. He'll play the flute and sing for you when you are in his shop. Oh, and his dog is with him during the week, but he gives the pup Saturdays off so I have never met the dog. Really great, long-standing family owned business. Tradespeople like this are few and far between. read more