Boot wars on South Congress Avenue? Local boot shop posts 'friendly' signs in window about competition

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Not quite “boots on the ground,” but some friendly competition on South Congress Avenue, for certain. 

Allens Boots, a prominent Austin cowboy boot provider since the 1970s, recently opened a pop-up shop for clearance merchandise a few doors down from its flagship location. But next door to the pop-up is another Austin-born boot western apparel store – Tecovas. 

Instead of challenging the shop to a fast draw, an Allens Boots employee posted signs in the window acknowledging the pop-up's close proximity to the competition.

“Most of the signs are just talking about our deals,” Blue Sharpe, a salesman at Allens, said. “It's kind of been just a friendly jab.” 

“We've had like other boot companies that have been close,” Sharpe added, “but this is the first time we've actually had someone on the street with us.”

Sharpe said Allens opened up the second location as a sort of “overflow” location. He said it likely won’t be a permanent addition. 

KXAN, of course, went to Tecova’s next door to ask how they felt about the gently goading signs. A sales associate there said they were aware of them but weren’t keen on contributing to this story. 

“It’s just friendly stuff,” Sharpe said.