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# The shoe no longer fits
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/the-shoe-no-longer-fits/
- Published: 2007-10-19T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-25T01:10:03.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Business, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Long-time shoe shop gets the boot from Santa Monica*

After nearly 80 years — from penny loafers to wood-soled wedgies to Doc Martins — a family owned fixture’s long-time run in the community is about to come to an end.

Located at the base of the NuWilshire Theater, Buster’s Shoe Repair shop on Wilshire Boulevard is expected to vacate the space it has called home for more than seven decades by the end of the month.

Robert Goli, whose family has owned Buster’s for more than 20 years, was caught off guard when he received an eviction notice from Landmark Theaters about three weeks ago, ordering the business to move out by Oct. 31\. Landmark Theaters leases the adjacent movie house from the property owner and subleases the modest 500-square foot space at the edge of the theater to the shoe repair shop.

“We didn’t expect it,” Goli said Thursday.

Jennifer Palm, the leasing administrator who sent the notice to Goli, did not return a request seeking comment on Thursday. The property owner, listed as Soundview Investment Partners, could not be reached for comment.

Loyal customers are decrying the eviction, which comes as part of an extensive renovation project of NuWilshire, transforming the theater into several retail spaces. Soundview Investment Partners applied for the remodel in October 2006.

“It’s symptomatic of what’s been going on,” said long-time client Maralee Grantham, a real estate broker who has been helping the Goli family find another location in the Westside.

With the upbeat pop sound of Natasha Bedingfield blaring in the background, Goli was busy trying to breathe some life back into an old pair of shoes on Thursday morning, oblivious to the grime collecting on his labored hands.

The otherwise easygoing cobbler has been juggling the everyday demands of the shoe repair business, which services anywhere from 75 to 100 clients, with the hunt to find a new home for the business, which opened about 75 years ago.

But the search has yielded unattractive options, mainly because of the high rent demanded by any location on the Westside. The Goli family currently pays about $865 a month in rent and nearly all of the spaces that Goli has checked out has asked for at least $3,000 a month for a comparable-sized place.

“The rent is just killing us,” Goli said.

Family patriarch Gabriel Goli purchased Buster’s Shoe Repair about 20 years ago in an effort to bring in extra income to supplement the family’s other business, Goli Shoe Repair, in Redondo Beach. Gabriel Goli, who passed away 10 years ago, and his five brothers all learned the trade from their father. Each brother opened their own shoe repair shop in the Los Angeles area, including ones in Brentwood, Beverly Hills and Burbank. Goli Shoe Repair was established about 45 years ago and is still going strong, according to the 32-year-old Robert Goli.

Goli added that he was also upset that the eviction notice came after he spent approximately $20,000 to renovate the shop a year ago, upgrading the electricity, raising the ceiling and expanding the retail space to add more merchandise.

The business has attracted a loyal following from Santa Monica and residents from nearby Malibu and Mar Vista, the store’s clientele singing the shop’s praises for its personable service and attention to detail.

Sharon Lusk, who works at the Jenny Craig located just two doors down, has been taking her shoes into Buster’s for the past year, hooked on the service after she brought in a pair of shoes whose straps broke. Goli immediately fixed the shoes and delivered them personally.

Coworker Rachelle Cleaves, who purchases purses from Buster’s, added that the shop is one of the last remnants of the small town that was once Santa Monica, where customers could come into the mom-and-pop shops and chat with the owners.

“You’re not just a number, you’re a person,” Cleaves said.

Jump hedline: Long-time shoe shop gets the boot.

Suggested pullquote: “It’s symptomatic of what’s been going on.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 19, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/101907.pdf?ref=smdp.com)