The tale of the 8-foot cowboy boot in the Italian Market and the store owner who put it there

The first thing Alfonso Aramburo wanted to put on the sidewalk in front of his new western wear store on Washington Avenue in the Italian Market was a life-size fiberglass horse. He had one outside of his store in Alabama years ago and it attracted a lot of attention.“‘Why you don’t bring a boot this time, because you don’t sell stuff for horses — you sell boots,’” Aramburo recalled.

“Last night I reviewed the cameras outside, and I see so many people stop to take pictures on the boot,” Aramburo said.While the boot has a whole lot of sole, the real soul of the store is Aramburo, who’s created a place that evokes memories in his clients, from the warm earthy smell of leather that permeates the shop to the vibrantly-patterned cowboy shirts within it.

When Brazilian native Emerson Negao walked into the store Monday for the first time with a friend, he couldn’t contain his excitement.Growing up in Durango, Mexico, Aramburo said western wear, called “ropa vaquera,” was very popular. In fact, the vaquero, or Mexican cowboy,Aramburo first left Mexico at 17 and spent four years working construction jobs in Los Angeles, but the city never fit him right. He made money, but spent it just as quickly.

Inspired by the success of his side hustle, Aramburo opened his first Viejo Oeste western wear store in Gainesville, Ga., in 1999. The name, which means “Old West,” was voted on by his coworkers at the chicken plant, he said. “I’d be sitting on my chair with no customers. I turn my head and see all my store and I said, ‘This store is beautiful, but I don’t have customers. I’ve got to find another place,’” Aramburo said.. When he went to check it out, he saw many Latinos at the market and felt like it could be a good opportunity for his business.

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