Winter is normally the busy season for Denver cobbler Tommy Rhine.
“Some people don’t realize that shoes need repair until their feet start getting wet from walking around on holes in the bottom.” The pandemic, however, has meant there’s much less perambulating for his usual downtown clientele. “A lot of these people are not working and, if they are, they’re working at home.”
It’s been terrible, he said.
There was an immediate outpouring of support for Rhine’s struggles after they were first shared in June. People raised thousands of dollars for him online and sent in shoes from all over the country for repair. Eight months later, as Colorado marks a year in the pandemic, Rhine is trying to make that charitable boost last for as long as possible. He’s also gotten some rent relief from his landlord.