LEWISTON – Local cobbler Zachary Gibbens was back at work Wednesday, trying desperately to complete orders for customers who have been waiting months for their shoes.

With the help of a local businesswoman who volunteered her time and staff to help save Sugar Bear Shoe Repair, Gibbens hopes he will catch up.

He blamed his slump on a bout of severe migraines.

“I’m going to straighten this out,” he said. “Soon, this will be a bad memory.”

Customers who have been bringing their shoes to the small Lisbon Street shop for years started to notice months ago that something was wrong.

They dropped off their shoes and paid in advance for the repairs. Then, in many cases, a month or two went by before they decided to call or stop in to see if the work had been done.

At first, Gibbens or one of his employees would simply ask for more time. Then things got worse: Gibbens stopped opening the store.

While the shop was closed for an entire week last month, several customers left notes on the window with their names, telephone numbers and descriptions of their shoes.

A pair of cowboy boots worth $200. A favorite pair of walking sneakers. A pair of heels needed for a holiday party.

Customers started to wonder if they would ever get their shoes back. Fearing that Gibbens skipped town with their money, a few people contacted the Lewiston Police Department only to be told that the police couldn’t do anything.

Just as one customer was considering a civil lawsuit against Gibbens, Gerry Merchant stepped in.

The owner of Sole Source Inc., a local company that sells shoe parts to cobblers, Merchant has been doing business with Gibbens for five years. After reading a story in the Sun Journal about his shop’s mysterious shutdown, she contacted Gibbens and offered her time.

Since Monday afternoon, Merchant and her employees have been helping Gibbens sift through piles of shoes, organize lists of customers and complete orders as quickly as possible.

“He wants to make everything right for everybody,” Merchant said while Gibbens was in the back room putting new soles on a pair of shoes.

Merchant plans to spend the next two weeks at the shop.

With each customer who came in, she explained the situation, asked for the person’s name and phone number and promised to call as soon as the work was done.

“As you can see, we still got some stuff to sort out,” she told a customer who showed up Wednesday, looking for a pair of knee-high leather boots that she dropped off in July.

As is the case with many customers, Merchant was not able to find the woman’s shoes right away. But she agreed to look for them and to call to let her know when they would be ready.

‘The right thing’

When asked why she has offered to volunteer so much of her time to help Gibbens, Merchant shrugged her shoulders, thought for a moment, then said, “It’s the right thing to do. That’s why we’re here.”

Several customers have asked for their shoes back, even if the repairs haven’t been done. In those cases, Merchant said, she returns the shoes and promises to mail a refund to the customer as soon as Gibbens starts making money again.

Gibbens’ father opened Sugar Bear Shoe Repair in 1984, and Gibbens worked there while he was in high school. Now 33 and the owner of the shop, he has no doubt that he will stay open.

“Things snowballed out of control,” he said. “But I’m going to get things in order, then I’m going to work on building my reputation back up.”

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