Footcare Shop ends long business run

The walls are bare. The equipment in the back of the shop has been sold.
But the aroma of leather remains.
The Footcare Shop — a fixture in Portland for more than 50 years — has closed its doors.
Born in the back shop of his father’s service station, the shoe repair business was the brainchild of LaDoyt Bubp, who later moved the shop to a spot on East Main Street, then to North Meridian Street.
The business was focused on a simple premise: People needed to mend things — shoes, leatherwear, purses, and clothing — rather than throwing them out and buying replacements.
But that simple premise isn’t so simple anymore.
“This is a throwaway time,” says Diana Manor, who worked at the shop for 45 years.
“It’s disposable,” says Randy Manor, who started work at the shop when he was just out of high school.
When Randy started at the Footcare Shop, the volume of business was so great that LaDoyt Bubp couldn’t keep up with it. He could repair, re-heel, or re-sole six pairs of shoes a day. But that wasn’t fast enough for the traffic coming through the door.
That was back in 1980 when Randy was just out of Jay County High School. Four years later in November of 1984, he bought the business with the help of his parents, Diana and Gerald.
In that era, shoe manufacturing in the United States was still flourishing. Shoe companies like Bass and Dexter were big businesses in New England. The Footcare Shop sold Dr. Scholl’s, Carolina, Georgia Boot, and Dexter brands.
Today, most shoes sold in America are manufactured in China. And they’re not made the way they were back when LaDoyt Bubp started the business.
“The shoes aren’t
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 repairable anymore,” says Randy. Even a pair of men’s dress shoes that might retail for $200 won’t take a re-soling.
“To repair them, you’re talking $55 to $75,” he adds. “Why spend $75 on an old pair of shoes?”
Meanwhile, styles changed. Western boots used to be much more popular locally, and those were a regular item for repair or re-heeling.
Sneakers and tennis shoes are also much more common everyday wear than they used to be.
Since 2004, Randy Manor has been less involved in the day-to-day operation of the shop, leaving that to his parents. But Gerald is 76 and worked at Portland Forge for 42 years. He’s ready to slow down a bit.
“We’ve got some stuff we want to do around the house,” says Gerald. “I’ll probably miss it.”
“I know I will,” adds Diana.
The shop’s equipment has been sold to a man in Adams County who has dreams of establishing his own business. He also bought some of the materials and inventory. Other inventory was donated to Goodwill. Today was the final day to pick up anything that was left for repair.
All that remains is the smell of leather.
“I’ve had a lot of people tell us, ‘I love the smell,’” says Diana.