OUR STORY

Pictured at one of the original stands (1910)  (L-R) Paul T. Angelos, George T. Angelos. and George Pulos.

Angelus Shoe Polish was not even a dream when young Greek immigrant Paul T Angelos arrived at Ellis Island. Making his way to Chicago, Paul shined shoes and saved enough money to go to Los Angeles. Arriving in Los Angeles penniless, he secured a job at a large shine stand. He saved his money and opened his first shine stand.  Through hard work and long hours he sent for his brothers George and Louie Soon there were 14 employees and three Shine stands - Sixth St. opposite the Hayward Grill, Fifth St. opposite the Alexandria Hotel, and next door to the Pantages Theater. After being crowned "King of the Bootblacks", Paul was able to make a return trip to Greece to marry his sweetheart.  Many years later Paul would tell his grandchildren what an experience it was to return to Greece on the Ocean Liner Mauritania First Class, the same ship that brought him Steerage to America. How fortunate his family was to be able to come to this country where freedom, success, and happiness were possible with honesty and hard work

After arriving back in Los Angeles, the decision was made to start making a few items to use on their shine stands. Other bootblacks started wondering what were the Angelos boys using at their shine stands and started asking where could they buy some. The demand for Angelus products started to grow until the poor kitchen stove could not keep up with demand. A small shop was opened on Winston Street and the brothers, cousins, and brother-in laws all split time between their shine stands and their new plant. Soon the plant demanded full time attention. The decision was made to sell their shine stands and devote all their energies to making shoe polish. Some of the family worked in the plant. Others took to the road where they went to every part of the country with their sample cases. When necessary they rolled up their shirtsleeves and worked in the repair shops or shined shoes to demonstrate the quality of their product. In 1917, their trademark was registered. In 1924, a new five-story plant was built on Maple Avenue in Los Angeles. In the early 1930's, Paul's son George joined the business on a full time basis. Demand continued to grow for Angelus products throughout the 1930's and 1940's.

At the end on World War II, with most of the principles reaching well into retirement age, a decision was made to sell the business in 1947. The new owner moved the plant from Maple Ave in Los Angeles to its present location in Culver City. Many changes were made sadly none for the good. The new owners felt that more money should be made and why use these expensive ingredients in shoe polish. As a result, a good business with a reputation for unmatched quality and service was brought down to almost nothing.

In 1953, Paul and his son George bought the Angelus Shoe Polish Company back. They went back to what they knew best - honesty, quality, and hard work. Any merchandise that was defective was taken back and refunds or new product was sent back out. Sid Solomon, their salesman would question Paul "You can't take back this much merchandise especially products that you did not make!" Paul's reply "It has our name on it and we will make it good, it matters little who made it". As a young boy my first job at Angelus was working beside my father and grandfather washing out hundreds of thousands of bottles of returned merchandise. We were the only plant employees. Finally mastering the art of bottle scrubbing, I graduated to packing and mixing. The only equipment we had in those days was our cooling tunnel for paste polish, one old noisy cream mixer, a few tanks, and wooden paddles for mixing. Filling of product was done with a hose or funnel. Capping was done by blistered hands. Slowly but surely the demand for product grew again. Soon machines were bought and employees hired.

Today, as the last original shareholder at Angelus Shoe Polish, I am as proud of our product and reputation as my grandfather was the first time he touched his fingers to a can of polish, shined a pair of shoes, and was flipped a dime for a job well done. It is my promise to all of my family that have been involved at Angelus since 1907, that we will not compromise the basic principals on which our company was founded: Honesty, Hard Work, Quality Products, and Service.

   Paul G. Angelos               
President