Months after nearly losing his shop, a local cobbler credits the community for getting him back on his feet.

LEWISTON – Zachary Gibbens couldn’t believe how quickly he lost control of his business.

It was weeks before Christmas, and every shelf in Sugar Bear Shoe Repair was jammed with boots, heels and loafers in need of new soles or stitching.

While Gibbens was stuck in bed with debilitating migraines, the phone service to the Lisbon Street shop was disconnected. He had fallen behind in his rent, and his customers had resorted to calling his landlord to find out how they could get their shoes and money back.

One morning, in the middle of it all, Gibbens thought about getting in his car and driving to a place where nobody would know him.

But, with three children and a family business that he had worked hard to build up, he knew that wasn’t an option.

Five months later, the 34-year-old cobbler refers to those early winter months as the worst of his life.

“It was humiliating. I nearly lost everything,” he said. “But with the help of friends, I made it through.”

Advance payments

These days, shoes are neatly lined along the shelves behind the shop’s counter. Those that have been fixed are in bags, waiting to be picked up.

In between replacing soles, zippers and heels, Gibbens calls customers to let them know that their items are ready. He tries not to make any customer wait more than two weeks, even if it means working through the night.

Many people were baffled last fall when Gibbens stopped calling and eventually stopped going to work.

Many had dropped off their shoes and paid in advance for the repairs. When they showed up months later, only to find the shop closed or to be told that their shoes could not be found, they wondered if Gibbens had ripped them off.

“I looked like the biggest thief in town,” Gibbens said. “But that wasn’t the case.”

Gibbens said he started asking for advance payments in January 2003 after several people had dropped off their shoes, then never returned to pick them up.

He had no idea at the time that he would be hit with another bout of severe headaches. Gibbens has been getting cluster migraines since he was a young boy.

“I’m not a wimpy guy,” he said. “But these are brutal headaches.”

Blew me away’

Looking back, he wishes that he asked for help sooner.

After a story about the problems at Sugar Bear Shoe Repair appeared in the Sun Journal, one of Gibbens’ associates stepped forward to help.

Gerry Merchant, the owner of Sole Source Inc., a local company that sells shoe parts to Gibbens and other cobblers, offered to come in with one of her employees, sift through the piles of shoes and deal with the customers while Gibbens worked in the back room.

“That just blew me away,” Gibbens said. “I just appreciate the community so much more now.”

Gibbens’ father opened Sugar Bear Shoe Repair in 1984. Gibbens started working at the shop when he was 16.

He dropped out of school in 11th grade to work full time, and he’s never wanted to do anything else.

“I love it,” he said. “It’s hard to explain. In this little dust hole, I can do so many things.”

Gibbens acknowledged that he lost some customers as a result of last year’s ordeal. But most people, he said, have given him a second chance.

“It’s changed me a lot,” he said. “It’s made me realize that you can really get through anything.”

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