LAKEVIEW – Since taking over the family business in 1990, Dionysios “Dan” Kanellakis has spent nearly every day at Broadway Shoe Repair.
There, too, his life suddenly ended last week.
Kanellakis, a popular sight in the neighborhood, died Tuesday of a heart attack, according to Alexis Kanellakis, his daughter. He was 59.
Broadway Shoe Repair, 3171 N. Broadway, will close for good after 82 years in business following the death of its owner. The Kanellakis family has spent their days at the shop since the patriarch’s passing, informing customers they can pick up their orders and chatting with longtime patrons and friends who have stopped by to offer their condolences.
Flowers lie behind the door and on the counter of Broadway Shoe Repair as neighbors mourn the loss of the prominent and very friendly shop owner.
“He basically spent all day talking to people and then working at night,” said Alexis Kanellakis. “I think it was quite appropriate that he died here.”
Broadway Shoe Repair was opened in 1942 by George Kanellakis, Dan’s father. It has remained at the same location since opening.
A closing date has not yet been set, but the store will likely close in the coming weeks after outstanding orders are returned to customers, Alexis Kanellakis said. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help the family through the business closure.
There were few things Dan Kanellakis loved more than the store. On any given day, you could find him either repairing a pair of shoes, chatting with a customer, or, most likely, both at the same time.
The business has survived eight decades of rapid change on one of Lakeview’s busiest streets and even weathered the tumult of COVID-19. During the pandemic, he often sat in the shop with the door open to chat with friends passing by.
Alexis and her brother George, 26 and 30, spent their childhoods in and around the chaotic, maximalist store before moving to DeKalb and Aurora, respectively. They made an effort to visit as adults, always finding their father at one of the display cases, a baseball cap on his hands, his phone in the other, a Bluetooth headset in his ear.
Shoes wrapped in plastic bags line the walls of Broadway Shoe Repair, every corner covered in shoe soles and leather wax. A tiny replica of the storefront stands in the window. Dan Kanellakis was always repairing something, from the shoes, handbags and belts he worked on in the shop to handheld radios, motorcycles and bicycles.
His neighbors remember Dan Kanellakis as a businessman who put customers first and valued the importance of relationships.
A Lakeview resident who moved to the neighborhood as a young widow said on Facebook that Dan Kanellakis refused to accept money when she dropped off things, so she offered him some homemade cookies.
As competitors’ prices rose and the craft faded into obscurity, Broadway Shoe Repair was not just a relic of old Chicago, but a neighborhood mainstay. Customers knew they could expect more than just expert shoe repair, and dozens shared anecdotes on Facebook about Dan Kannelakis’ gravitational connection. He frequently told stories from his beloved Greece, where he was born, and spoke fondly of his children and his craft.
His wish was for the family business to die with him, his children said. He wanted them to pursue their own ventures, with George working in the technology industry and Alexis in criminal justice.
Dan Kanellakis recently had his teeth done in Greece, erasing a long-held insecurity, Alexis Kanellakis said. He loved showing off his new smile and sending his children impromptu selfies of his new, sparkling white teeth. He planned to travel to Greece again with his children in October and show them his hometown of Pyrgos.
They still plan to visit their extended family and bring some of their father’s ashes to scatter in his honor. Dan Kanellakis teased his daughter about getting her tattoo removed in Greece, but after his sudden death, Alexis Kanellakis has a different way of honoring her in mind.
She now plans to get a tattoo of the shop tile with the shop address in honor of her father so that the shop will remain a part of her family forever.
“I always thought he was invincible and I told everyone that,” said Alexis Kanellakis. “He smoked cigarettes every day and drank only black coffee and never got sick. He was always fine.”
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