The Duncan Cobbler, located at 488 Trans-Canada Hwy., has been voted the Best Shoe Store in the region in the Cowichan Valley Citizen's sixth annual Best of the Valley awards.
The store, which has been fixing footwear in the Cowichan Valley since 1968, offers a variety of repairs from shoes, boots, sports gear, leather wear to horse tack and even blankets, and the professional cobblers also make custom-made sandals by customer request.
Spokesperson Kim McNish said she wasn’t aware that The Duncan Cobbler was even nominated, but she’s delighted the store took top prize in the shoe store category.
The winners in the Best in the Valley competition are chosen by the public, and McNish attributes The Duncan Cobbler’s success to the fact that it provides good and fast service for its customers, and that’s likely why the store won in its category.
She said in today’s tough economy, more people are looking to have things fixed rather than replacing them, so The Duncan Cobbler has been kept very busy.
“We have three employees who are always on the go, and [cobbler] Stephen Schellenbert is really good at resolving any issues around footwear,” McNish said.
“We’ve only been at this location for two years, but it’s a good location with a lot of visibility, and that has helped as well.”
