Double-O-Sole Shoe Repair has been an Augusta area staple for 25 years, tucked in a storefront on Washington Road in Martinez.
“We just kept the standards going,” said owner Antonio Glenn, who opened Double-O-Sole with his father, William Glenn, when they purchased the building and the name in 1997.
By then, the Glenns were already seasoned in the shoe repair trade, having operated another shop in Augusta on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard starting in 1990.
From 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Antonio and William Glenn can be found in their workshop taking orders from a revolving line of customers and tending to heels, elastic repairs, shoeshines and even some leatherwork, mending belts, purses and leather motorcycle vests.
Antonio Glenn says that work on soles, especially on work boots, is some of the toughest work, but is also the shop’s bread and butter.
“Work boot soles, full soles on men’s shoes, half-soles, half-soles in heels, full soles, full soles in heels, full soles on work boots,” he said. “Those are our primary way of feeding the whole family.”
Glenn, 44, has two sons, a daughter and two grandchildren, who he all cares for alongside his father. Working with shoes has been his trade since he was about 13 years old.
“It’s what I know,” he said.
The shop itself bears the sights and sounds of steady work, with sturdy equipment long tenured in the shoe repair trade, including a shoe finisher machine still going strong at 76-years-old.
Glenn notes that like many businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting restrictions put the business “through the ringer.” After over two decades in business, he’s used to rough patches, and says that, as a non-franchise business, Double-O-Sole has had carve out and maintain a niche market.
As such, folk looking to have their leather sandals patched up or a broken high heel tended to come to its door from all over the CSRA. The goal when working on a shoe is always a seamless mend.
“We try to make it look like it hadn’t needed repairs,” Glenn said.
He also notes that the quality of the work, the materials and attention to detail are what has enabled Double-O-Sole to persist, even through the pandemic.
“We seem to find a way,” said Glenn. “We dig down deep, and seem to find a way to keep things going.”
Double-O-Sole is located at 3705 Washington Rd, Ste. C in Martinez, and is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5:30, and Saturdays 9 to 2 p.m. For more information, call (706) 414-4246.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering education in Columbia County and business-related topics for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
