‘Mayor Mike’ steps down: Business as usual to continue at Fitzgerald Shoe Shop
After 16 years and one week on the job, Mike Fitzgerald is officially retired from Dillsboro’s town board— but not from his place as owner of the only remaining shoe repair shop in North Carolina's seven western counties.
Sylva shoe duo upholds the last of a dying trade
Mike Fitzgerald rarely skipped a beat as he darted spryly between his cobbler’s bench and the vintage, grime-coated machines anchoring his narrow shoe repair shop.
It’s hard to fathom, but Fitzgerald knows every nook and cranny of the controlled chaos. Floor-to-ceiling shelves brim with a disheveled array of tack boxes, heaps of leather scraps, and a small army of polish and dye cans.
