Arturo's Shoe Fixx and Progressive Shoe Repair in Beverly Hills might be the names more likely overheard at Barneys or at upscale resale shop Decades. But Willie's Shoe Service, a shoe and leather repair service founded by Willie Rivera in 1956, has its own storied Hollywood history, and allows customers to avoid the belly of the 90210 beast entirely. Willie's pride in its workmanship is as good as it gets, and parking and traffic are far less of a hassle in the unglamorous reaches of southern Hollywood. Plus there's a very social shop cat. Now Rivera's protege, Raul Ojeda, is realizing his own creative vision and getting back to the business's custom shoe-making roots by offering bespoke pairs at his new store, Don Ville on La Brea. It's a smart way to build trust and confidence. How much more reassuring would it be if your auto mechanic not only repaired your wheels but knew how to engineer cars from the ground up, too? 801 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hlywd.; (323) 463-5011, williesshoeservice.com.

—Jessica Ritz