Lisbon Morning Journal / Stephanie Ujhelyi Cobbler’s Corner, which has provided Columbiana and the surrounding areas with boot and shoe repair for 49 years as well as a full selection of footwear, will be closing its doors for good Saturday. Cobbler’s Corner was the oldest continuous business within the city.

COLUMBIANA — Cobbler’s Corner has served the area for 49 years as the area’s premier shoe repair shop. However, the store won’t be celebrating a golden anniversary in 2026.

Owner Terry Thompson and his daughter Jennifer have decided to close the now-struggling business at the end of the month. However, he wanted to thank his area customers for their support over the ups and downs weathered by the store over the years.

Thompson specifically cited economic declines for the business because of the closures of Youngstown Sheet & Tube and General Motors Lordstown, which sent many customers seeking work boots his way, to the pandemic and the trend of online shopping which has flourished in post-COVID America.

Thompson started the shop in 1975 after suffering a severe back injury that pushed him into the shoe repair trade.

Over those 49 years, Cobbler’s Corner moved four times to larger locations.

Eventually, Thompson began carrying Red Wing boots and various other shoe and apparel lines as the shop size allowed.

Now in its fifth location at the Village Plaza, the store is 8,000-square feet and at its height stocked 10,000 pairs of shoes plus equipment to repair and make client shoes.

When deciding to stick to the human clientele on a full-time basis, Thompson invented and patented the E-Z Caster, in addition to the E-Z Gait Drop-Foot Brace.

Cobbler’s Corner is especially proud of being Columbiana’s oldest, continuous business.

His daughter Jennifer, a pedorthist, has run the store after he retired to Florida in 2017.

Still cautious about exposure to COVID after largely sheltering in place during the pandemic, the public has continued to shop online and have their chosen products shipped to their homes, impacting retail establishments like Cobbler’s Corner.

As Thompson noted, “COVID has changed how people interact today. Jennifer and I just made the decision to close the store with honor.”

Once Cobbler’s Corner is closed for good, Thompson plans to return to Port Lucia, Florida, where he has worked as a minister full-time since 2018.

Cobbler’s Corner’s last day will be Saturday; the shop will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

An attorney will liquidate the remaining inventory of value for Thompson, who had created a side gig for years of doing it for other shoe repair shops when they went out of business.