PHOENIX — If you’ve ever walked down Adams Street in downtown Phoenix, odds are you’ve seen “Andy’s Shoe Shine & Repair.” But have you met the owner? He can teach us a thing or two about happiness, history and treating people right.
THE SHOE-SHINING KID
Owner Andrew Milsap has been shining shoes since he was a young boy in Tupelo, Mississippi.
By the age of 12 or 13 years old, Milsap knew how to shine shoes, but it was "Uncle Pete," who had a shoe repair shop, who taught him “how to really act” in the service industry.
At a young age, Milsap knew how to take care of his customers, including Elvis Presley.
HOTEL MUEHLEBACH
Milsap moved from Mississippi to Missouri with his aunt and uncle after he graduated.
In 1966, Milsap made his way to Missouri, began working in a hospital, and eventually started shining shoes inside a Kansas City barbershop near Hotel Muehlebach where celebrities would stay.
Down the road, Milsap had his own shoe shop at the Radisson Hotel in Kansas City - just a few blocks from where he started at the barber shop with "Mr. Jean."
His work ethic gained him a following of loyal customers. According to Milsap, some of his clients from back in the day were Mr. Ewing Kauffman, owner of the Kansas City Royals baseball team, and Mr. Lamar Hunt, owner of the Kansas City Chiefs football team, who inevitably helped propel his business even in the locker rooms.
The celebrities that sat in his shoe-shining chair didn’t stop there. According to Milsap, the list also included Muhammad Ali and even the musical band, Rat Pack.
REPUTATION
Milsap has been in this profession for more than 50 years. In the Valley, he’s owned Andy’s Shoe Shine & Repair since 2006 and, to this day, still works in his shop.
As you can see in the videos in this story, Milsap has a neck brace on. He was in a car crash back in December; he says police told him that the driver that crashed into him was impaired and blew through a red light.
But even in a situation like this, Milsap says he'll keep shining shoes as long as he can.
“I'm [going to] tell you a secret. When you're not working hard and you do what you love, you don't feel like you're working. [If I] can sit down and do it, [and it’s] not hard on my back, I'm just [going to] do it,” he said. “But when I feel like I'm working hard, I will let it go. You know, but I still love it. I'm still able to sit in a chair and do it as fast and as good as I ever did.”
IF YOU GO
Andy’s Shoe Shine & Repair
Address: 114 W Adams St. [suite 107] in Phoenix
