COVID has been tough on Hugo Arellano, who operates a fine shoe and leather repair shop in Point Loma Plaza. Hugo says he couldn’t have survived the pandemic without help from his friends. He just didn’t realize he had so many.
“I’ve been surviving because neighbors and my friends have been good to me,” said Arellano, originally from Guanajuato, Mexico. “I say thank you to the neighborhood because they’ve been so supportive.”
Arellano has operated Leather Magic Fine Shoe & Repair at 3639-D Midway Drive for 21 years. He pointed out the pandemic proved to be a real challenge and forced him to change his business model.
“We used to be three people but after COVID, now I’ve been working alone,” he said of how he has been able to manage. “[Customers] have given me a chance to survive because I know how to do everything.”
Arellano said that his supporters have been more than generous. “I had one customer one time, she gave me $2,500,” he said. “Another time, I had a customer I did a $60 job for and he screamed and said, ‘This is not a $60 job, this is a $600 job.’ People have been good to us.”
Leather Magic handles the repair of shoes, from the least to the most expensive. The shop also works on handbags and orthopedic shoes, even doing some luggage repairs. Working in his backroom, Arellano resoles and refinishes shoes, as well as custom dying and handbag repair.
The front room of Leather Magic offers all the accessories anyone would ever need for shoes including laces, polishes, and brushes. Arellano said about 70% of the work he does is on women’s shoes. He also does work for first responders, working on boots for local firefighters.
Picking up an extremely worn firefighter’s boot in his workshop, Arellano noted: “This boot costs $500. I can repair it for $100.”
Arellano moved from Mexico to the States in 1980 to raise his standard of living and have a chance at a better life. He learned his leather working craft in Clairemont Mesa. He worked for Nordstrom corporation for 25 years in their shoe department before he took over the leather repair business in Point Loma.
Arellano has repaired shoes for some famous athletes. He worked on footwear for Chargers football players when they were here. He also did work for famed Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez, and soccer great Pele of Brazil. He has signed and framed photos from both sports stars hanging on his walls.
The leather-crafter has three dogs, a Japanese Akita named Chino, a Saint Bernard named Pepe, and a chihuahua named Buki, who work with him in his shop. “I work too many hours,” he said. “I don’t have a chance to have friends. They’ve come to be my friends.”
Arellano doesn’t give preferential treatment to any of his customers, treating them all the same.
“Everybody who brings food to my table – that’s good,” he concluded. “I tell them, ‘You’re my boss today.’”
LEATHER MAGIC FINE SHOE & REPAIR
Where: 3639-D Midway Drive
Contact: 619-223-2777.
