Peering in to the window of Watkins Shoe Shop is like looking in to a time capsule. I honestly had no idea there was a place in Raleigh where you could still get your shoes shined. I’ve driven by this place hundreds of times, and assumed it was only a shoe repair place. Despite the sad and somewhat dated note on the door, the place is still open. It first opened for business in 1973.
Anne Blythe wrote an outstanding article on Willie for the News & Observer, shortly after his death:

As an African-American man, Watkins had to overcome many obstacles to build his business. As a young husband and father, he worked two jobs — early mornings at a creamery moving crates of milk from the refrigerated area to the loading dock, then at a white-owned shoe shop in Raleigh’s Five Points where he only was allowed to shine shoes.

Through his time there and at other shops and companies, Watkins soaked up enough about the business to teach himself the intricacies of shoe repair.

Once he took apart his daughter’s little patent leather shoes just so he could stitch them back together. He made leather book bags and suitcases that his children still have.

“He used to say he was a jack-of-all trades and a master of none,” Elaine said. “I dispute that.”

Watkins worked hard to afford his children any opportunity. He helped them pay for college and chipped in for other relatives in tough times. That generous spirit carried over into his shop. “People would come through a little down and out on their luck, and he would do their repair work and not charge them,” said son Reggie, a lawyer in the state Attorney General’s Office.

View Larger Map