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Sometimes, Yohana Quiroz would ask her father — a skilled cobbler, who had been studying the craft since he was a child — why he repaired things for customers with such perfection and attention to detail. “This is the customer’s favorite bag,” Quiroz remembers him saying. “This is the customer’s favorite shoe. This is their favorite jacket. I need to fix it.”
Her father, Nicolas Torres, who expertly repaired the Mission’s shoes (and bags, and jackets, and who knows what else) for 33 years, died on Dec. 1, from liver cancer. He was 79.
“El Zapatero,” as his customers knew him, grew up in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. His upbringing was far from easy. His father was not around, and his mother abandoned him at a young age, leaving Torres to raise himself. He began repairing shoes as a child, and by the time he was 18 or so, he knew the ins and outs of the trade.
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He moved to the United States in 1974, and worked at the Montgomery Shoe Repair shop downtown until 1990, when the owner of a storefront at 29th and Mission cut him a deal on rent. “I always wanted to be independent,” Torres told Mission Local in 2021. “To work for myself, and not have to depend on others.”
Nicolas Torres poses with some of his work in 2023. Photo courtesy of Yohana Quiroz.
Also, said his wife, Dilsia, in that 2021 interview, he was “a perfectionist.” Albeit one with “a very tender heart.”
Torres named the business Alexander’s Shoe Repair after his son, who was born that year at San Francisco General Hospital. He was particularly delighted in the challenging jobs, like building or modifying shoes for people with unconventional feet. He made shoes for a client whose feet were reshaped by post-polio syndrome and another whose feet had been injured in an auto accident.
As dress shoes became less common among Mission residents, Torres expanded his repertoire to repairing wallets, belts, and bags. “He had such craftsmanship for things that people thought it was impossible to repair,” Quiroz said.
The storefront was, many noted, a seemingly chaotic jumble of shoe-related items. Some customers recalled having to go behind the counter and help him find their shoes. A few left snippy reviews online, which Torres did not bother to read.
“Sure, sometimes there are malcontents,” Torres said in 2021. “But the great majority of my customers appreciate me and thank me for my care and attention. I am tranquil in my life; I don’t worry about what I can’t control.” He closed up shop, reluctantly, in 2023, at age 77.
Quiroz described her dad as a man full of humility, happiness and desire to help others through his work. “My dad was and will always be an inspiration to all of his six children,” she said. “He really was a reflection of the typical story of an immigrant who comes to the United States to pursue their dreams and their aspirations.”
That said, he also knew how to party. Quiroz recalled her dad’s merengue moves (legendary) and how he was always ready to jump on a dance floor, at any moment and any time. His favorite musician was Argentinian pop and bolero artist, Leo Dan, and he often sang Dan’s song, Mary es mi amor around the shop.
Quiroz remembered going to see Dan with her father — once at Roccapulco on Mission Street, and another time in San Jose. “We were in the front row,” said Quiroz. “You could just see my dad’s bright eyes, really fascinated being in the space where he was — right in front of his favorite artist.”
Torres was also a big fan of Jasmine Tea House on Mission Street near Valencia Street, where he ate lunch every day. His favorite dish was eggplant and white rice.
Quiroz said her dad’s departure has left a void.
“I learned a lot about humility and service to others,” she said. “I want people to remember him how he would want to be remembered, which is joyful — full of life and loving what he did.”
A public memorial service for Nicolas Torres will be held at Driscoll’s Mortuary at 1465 Valencia St. on Monday, Dec. 15 from 1 to 5 p.m. Leo Dan’s tunes will be provided.
Nicolas Torres with his wife and grandchildren in 2023 after receiving his certificate of honor. Photo courtesy of Yohana Quiroz.
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