Shoeshine & Co.

One of my earliest memories as a child was watching my father polish his shoes. Each week or so, he would pull out an ancient shoe box full of long stiff bristled brushes and squat glass containers of brown and black Kiwi polish. And when my family went into the city for our yearly holiday trip, my father would treat my brothers to a shoe polish outside Grand Central Station and I'd watch them beam with gawky adolescent pride over their gleaming shoes.

These memories came flooding back to me recently after I met Kevin Tuohy, the main man behind "A Shoeshine & Co", a shoe-shine team that will travel to any event and polish shoes. He was at Club Verdi wearing a bowling shirt, a black straw hat and a big grin reminiscent of Ernie the cab driver from "It's a Wonderful Life." I watched him chat up the men as he snapped his towels over their spectators and called out "Hey Beautiful!" to almost every girl who walked by.

Kevin started the business about four years after he finished a stint in the military and has taken to his new-found career with a vigor that any mother would be proud of. "It's the only job where I can yack away the hours and get away with it!" winked Kevin. And his customers end up walking away with a well-polished pair of shoes, so we'll call it a fair trade.

Kevin has become something of a mainstay in the San Francisco swing scene--rather makes sense with all those sharp spectator shoes dancing around at places like the Hi-Ball Lounge and Great American Music Hall. Kevin not only does swing dance halls, but also conventions around the Bay plus he will even go to offices for all the bankers and the likes. Not only can he dance up a storm (ladies, beware!) but charm the shoes off of you as well as polish them.

Contact Kevin Tuohy at tuohy@ibm.net to book him for your shoe-shining needs.

Leslie Dotson

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