ROCHESTER — A quartet of local entrepreneurs have cobbled together a plan to turn an almost 120-year-old former shoe repair shop into a cozy hangout spot called The Shoe Beverage Bar on Rochester’s North Broadway Avenue. Matt and Frankie Jewison along with Jack Lester and Eric Kramlinger recently purchased the weathered building at 908 North Broadway Ave. that housed Thee Only Shoe Repair business for 61 years.
Thee Only Shoe Repair closed its doors in 2022. They worked with Bucky Beeman and Matt Gove to acquire the house. ADVERTISEMENT The Jewisons, who live nearby, looked at the old house and saw an opportunity to add something to the growing Lowertown Neighborhood .
“Anytime you go to a bigger city, there's always unique and quirky hangout spots. Rochester just doesn't have that. We have either a dive bar or you are paying $17 for your cocktail,” said Matt Jewison.
“We’d like to create something in between, where if you're not looking to drink ...
you can order tea or a Kowabunga Kombucha plus we’ll have a nice well-crafted selection of beers and wines from Jack’s Bottle Shop . The repair shop is a cool, old building right off of Broadway. We think it's a .
.. shoe-in for this.
” The vision is an owner-operated spot where people can feel comfortable drinking alcohol or alcohol-free beverages while hanging out with friends as music plays. It won’t be a sports bar or fancy cocktail place or a hard-drinking dive. Jewison, who owns Anytime Fitness and the Kow.