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Sometimes, Yohana Quiroz would ask her father \u2014\u00a0a skilled cobbler, who had been studying the craft since he was a child \u2014\u00a0why he repaired things for customers with such perfection and attention to detail. \u201cThis is the customer\u2019s favorite bag,\u201d Quiroz remembers him saying. \u201cThis is the customer\u2019s favorite shoe. This is their favorite jacket. I need to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her father, Nicolas Torres, who expertly repaired<\/a> the Mission\u2019s shoes (and bags, and jackets, and who knows what else) for 33 years, died on Dec. 1, from liver cancer. He was 79.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEl Zapatero,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n Want the latest on the Mission and San Francisco? Sign up for our free daily newsletter below.<\/p>\n 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. \u201cI always wanted to be independent,\u201d Torres told Mission Local in 2021<\/a>. \u201cTo work for myself, and not have to depend on others.\u201d<\/p>\n Also, said his wife, Dilsia, in that 2021 interview, he was \u201ca perfectionist.\u201d Albeit one with \u201ca very tender heart.\u201d<\/p>\n Torres named the business Alexander\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n As dress shoes became less common among Mission residents, Torres expanded his repertoire to repairing wallets, belts, and bags. \u201cHe had such\u00a0 craftsmanship for things that people thought it was impossible to repair,\u201d Quiroz said.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSure, sometimes there are malcontents,\u201d Torres said in 2021. \u201cBut the great majority of my customers appreciate me and thank me for my care and attention. I am tranquil in my life; I don\u2019t worry about what I can\u2019t control.\u201d He closed up shop, reluctantly, in 2023<\/a>, at age 77.\u00a0<\/p>\n Quiroz described her dad as a man full of humility, happiness and desire to help others through his work. \u201cMy dad was and will always be an inspiration to all of his six children,\u201d she said. \u201cHe really was a reflection of the typical story of an immigrant who comes to the United States to pursue their dreams and their aspirations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n That said, he also knew how to party. Quiroz recalled her dad\u2019s 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<\/a>, and he often sang Dan\u2019s song, Mary es mi amor<\/a> around the shop.<\/p>\n Quiroz remembered going to see Dan with her father \u2014 once at Roccapulco on Mission Street, and another time in San Jose. \u201cWe were in the front row,\u201d said Quiroz. \u201cYou could just see my dad\u2019s bright eyes, really fascinated being in the space where he was \u2014\u00a0right in front of his favorite artist.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Mission](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765543877_58_mission-local-logo-300x300.jpg\"){kind=logo}
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Nicolas Torres poses with some of his work in 2023. Photo courtesy of Yohana Quiroz.<\/p>\n
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Nicolas Torres with his wife and grandchildren in 2023 after receiving his certificate of honor. Photo courtesy of Yohana Quiroz.<\/p>\n