Vince Pardo has spent his entire life making things last.
It's no wonder, then, that in 47 years repairing shoes, handbags and luggage at his midtown workshop, El Con Custom Cobblers, Pardo hasn't bothered much with upgrades.
He still uses the same stitching machine he opened his store with. And the rotary dial telephone, with its deep, jangling ring, is the same one that fell silent for nearly a week after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Fitting, then, that even though the 79-year-old Pardo is retiring at the end of the month, the cobbler shop he opened at El Con Mall in 1963 is going to keep plugging along without him.
Longtime employee Luis Montaño, 59, will take over when the store moves by next month to a new location in Midstar Plaza, 4546 E. Broadway.
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El Con Custom Cobblers has been the mall's oldest tenant for years, but with the mall reconfiguring parts of the shopping center, Pardo said it was time to leave, and time for him to retire.
"I'm 79 and a half. I woke up one morning and said, 'It's time,' " Pardo said, "Everything comes to an end."
Pardo leaves the store to Montaño, who has has worked in the shop since 1973, when he answered a radio ad. Montaño learned the trade as a teenager from his father, a cobbler with a store in Agua Prieta, Mexico, that is still in the family.
Pardo himself began repairing shoes at age 14, learning the trade from a Detroit shoemaker while he worked in Chrysler's automobile factories.
The two credit the shop's longevity to their willingness to take on any job. They've repaired boots for the U.S. Border Patrol, dyed shoes for quinceañeras and made clown shoes for the Shriners.
About 20 years ago, Reid Park Zoo approached Pardo about building a special shoe for a foot-sore elephant.
The elephant, which had an ulcer on its foot, chewed up the first, soft-leather shoe in about five minutes.
Pardo made another shoe out of rubber, and the elephant kept it on.
Once one of more than 40 shoe-repair stores in Tucson, El Con Custom Cobblers is now among the last of its kind. There are only six shoe-repair shops left in Tucson, Pardo said.
"Times change," he said.
Even so, Montaño said he expects to be busy at the new location. The store has built a loyal following over the years. "But it's going to be a challenge. I've always been the employee," he said.
If You Go
El Con Custom Cobblers will move to its new location at 4546 E. Broadway, in Midstar Plaza, by April 1.
For more information, call 795-2436.
Contact reporter Alex Dalenberg at adalenberg@azstarnet.com or 807-8429.