A shoe treating apparatus including a sensor part including at least one sensor, a motor part configured to control tilting of at least one shelf, and a processor electrically connected to the sensor part and the motor part is provided. The processor may identify an approach of a user by using the at least one sensor, and may generate, based on the identified user approach, a control signal for adjusting a tilt speed of the at least one shelf. Also, the processor may transmit the generated control signal to the motor part to adjust the tilt speed of the at least one shelf. A method of operating a shoe treating apparatus is also provided.