Our Story
Four Decades of
Craft & Trust
Tony's Shoe Repair has been a Waterford institution since 1982 — but the story starts earlier than that. Tony Deni, an Italian immigrant with a craftsman's hands and an old-world work ethic, opened this shop and spent three decades building something rare: a business where people trusted you completely with the things they relied on every day.
Dinh came to the United States from Vietnam in 1975, one of thousands who arrived with little but determination. He worked where he could — including a stint on the floor at Ford — before discovering a craft that felt like home. He began learning shoe repair in 1979, came to work for Tony Deni in 1980, and by 1982 had purchased the business outright. The name stayed. So did the standards.
More than forty years later, Dinh — known to everyone simply as Tony — still shows up every day. His brother Dan, a professional cobbler and certified orthopedic shoemaker, works alongside him. His wife Catalina keeps the front counter running with a warmth that makes first-time customers feel like regulars.
This is a family business in the truest sense. Every pair of shoes that comes through the door gets treated like it matters — because to you, it does.
