In Leesburg, Fresh Coffee And Old Shoes

Shop Reuses Its History

By Kafia A. Hosh

Thursday, August 20, 2009

The building in downtown Leesburg had housed a shoe repair store for more than 80 years, until its well-known cobbler retired and closed shop in 2006.

So when the lights came back on at 17 N. King St. last month, new and former customers began visiting the store, where the shoe shop sign still hangs outside the door.

They walked into a coffee shop designed with materials from the former business.

“Sometimes we get customers who come in to get their shoes repaired,” said Ed Shihadeh, owner of the Shoes Cup & Cork Club, which opened July 3.

Sicilian immigrant Vincenzo Raneri opened his shoe repair shop in the 1920s and sold the business to Hartoun Varoujanian in the 1970s.

Varoujanian ran the shop, which he renamed Arthur’s Shoe Repair, for 34 years until he retired in December 2006.

The coffee shop is sprinkled with remnants of its history as a shoe repair business.

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Shoe's Cup & Cork Club

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Customers depart Shoe's Cup & Cork Club coffee shop in Leesburg, August 17, 2009. The coffee shop is designed with remnants and memorabilia of Arthur's Shoe Repair, which had been in business at the location for 34 years before the owner retired in 2006. (Jonathan Ernst)

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Owner Ed Shihadeh at Shoe's Cup & Cork Club coffee shop in Leesburg, August 17, 2009. The coffee shop is designed with remnants and memorabilia of Arthur's Shoe Repair, which had been in business at the location for 34 years before the owner retired in 2006. (Jonathan Ernst)

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Owner Ed Shihadeh (left) chats with customer Sean Dunn at Shoe's Cup & Cork Club coffee shop in Leesburg, August 17, 2009. The coffee shop is designed with remnants and memorabilia of Arthur's Shoe Repair, which had been in business at the location for 34 years before the owner retired in 2006. (Jonathan Ernst)

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Old shoeshine footrests are repurposed at the counter in the front window at Shoe's Cup & Cork Club coffee shop in Leesburg, August 17, 2009. The coffee shop is designed with remnants and memorabilia of Arthur's Shoe Repair, which had been in business at the location for 34 years before the owner retired in 2006. (Jonathan Ernst)

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Tea for sale at Shoe's Cup & Cork Club coffee shop in Leesburg, August 17, 2009. The coffee shop is designed with remnants and memorabilia of Arthur's Shoe Repair, which had been in business at the location for 34 years before the owner retired in 2006. (Jonathan Ernst)

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Daniel Weinberg (right) counts his coffee bean "winnings" as he plays cards with his sister Rebecca (from left), father Philip Weinberg and mother Liliana Weinberg at Shoe's Cup & Cork Club coffee shop in Leesburg, August 17, 2009. The coffee shop is designed with remnants and memorabilia of Arthur's Shoe Repair, which had been in business at the location for 34 years before the owner retired in 2006. (Jonathan Ernst)

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Shoes hang as part of the chandelier at Shoe's Cup & Cork Club coffee shop in Leesburg, August 17, 2009. The coffee shop is designed with remnants and memorabilia of Arthur's Shoe Repair, which had been in business at the location for 34 years before the owner retired in 2006. (Jonathan Ernst)

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The marble base from Arthur’s shoeshine stand was used to create the cashier’s counter and two sections of counter seating that face the windows. Eight brass footrests from the shoeshine stand were installed underneath the counters.

Wooden cases from the shoe shop hang on the wall and hold a range of orange, blue and yellow travel mugs and other coffee accessories.

The shop’s original “SHOE REPAIRS” and “NEW SHOES” signs hang from the ceiling.

“It was a nifty old shop,” Shihadeh said. “We wanted to use the materials that were already in here because they were cool.”

Old shoes dangle from the ceiling lights. One of them, a woman’s shoe, still has an orange repair tag dating to 1928.

Shihadeh said the shoe was found inside a wall during construction of the coffee shop.

“Someone lost their shoe and never got it,” he said.

Shihadeh said his coffee shop has had steady traffic, mostly from customers who are curious about the new store in the former Arthur’s building.

At first, Shihadeh said, he thought his shop would cater to a morning crowd of rushed commuters. But it has a relaxed atmosphere and provides pencils, crossword puzzles and games of sudoku for its customers.

“A lot of times, you have a vision of what you like,” Shihadeh said, but “the patrons drive what you become. It seems like this is a really lunchtime crowd.”

On a recent afternoon, three teenagers played chess in one corner while a group of office workers ate lunch and a family of four sipped tea nearby.

The family of Ashburn residents consisted of Phil and Liliana Weinberg and their two children. The couple said they usually visit downtown Leesburg to escape Ashburn’s strip malls and crowded parking lots.

Ashburn “doesn’t have the same ambiance,” Phil Weinberg said, adding that he appreciated the coffee shop’s quaint appearance and use of Arthur’s artifacts.

Arthur’s Shoe Repair easily inspired the coffee shop’s theme, but that wasn’t enough to carve it a niche in the saturated cafe market. Shihadeh said he spent a lot of time looking for the right fair-trade coffee roaster and working on the menu of fresh sandwiches and salads.

“If the product is not good, then people aren’t going to come back here,” he said.

Shihadeh said he hopes to add beer and wine selections to the menu.

In keeping with the shop’s shoe theme, Shihadeh also has launched a shoe drive with Walk In My Shoes Global Project, a nonprofit organization that provides shoes to needy children in developing countries.

The shop is offering a free cup of coffee to each person who donates a pair of new or slightly used children’s shoes.

“It’s our small way of trying to give back and help out,” Shihadeh said.

Tagged: Leesburg

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