Irene and Chris White pose in front of the boot display inside the Redneck Boot Shop and Western Wear showroom at the corner of Main and Central in downtown Owego. Their boot lines include Justin Work Boots, Dan Post, Laredo, and Dingo in sizes for men, women and children.
Customers browse inside the Redneck Boot Shop, corner of Main and Central in downtown Owego. Clothing brands include Roper, Cowgirl Tuff, B. Tuff, and their own promotional t-shirts as well as other offerings for the whole family.
The ribbon is cut! Local dignitaries, family, and well-wishers gathered for the grand opening of the Redneck Boot Shop and Western Wear store at the corner of Main and Central in downtown Owego. Village of Owego Trustee Jenny Ceccherelli, second from left, said, “It’s a fabulous new business in a beautifully renovated building in downtown Owego. What could be better than that?”
When you visit the Redneck Boot Shop and Western Wear website, www.redneckbootshop.com, there’s a simple statement right before the boots are displayed. “It’s not just clothing; It’s a lifestyle.” That statement is a lot closer to home than you might think.
“I got into it when I was a kid,” Redneck Boot Shop Co-Owner Chris White said. Right now there’s an impressive display of boots, clothing, hats, and other items you’d expect and some you’d be surprised by in the 163 Main St. store, at the corner of Main and Central in downtown Owego. But White has plans on expanding things. A lot. He wants to have line dancing, with live bands.
“We’re going to move everything over there,” White said and pointed to the back corner of the store, indicating where his merchandise would go when the band was playing.
Coming a little sooner than live bands will be custom leather-working and repairs, and boot repairs. White also wants to have arts and crafts, wood burning, woodcarving, and leather kits. Crafts are something else that grew with his enthusiasm for Western attire and the rural lifestyle he picked up when he was a kid from his grandfather, Ben Pelligrino. The Redneck Boot Shop is not a gimmick or marketing strategy. It’s a passion White inherited from days spent with his grandfather, and nurtured throughout his life.
“It’s my husband’s dream business,” Irene White said. She is the other co-owner of the Redneck Boot Shop, and with Chris they have already established themselves as successful businesspeople with Chris White Home Improvement. Opening their new store is both a labor of love and an investment in Owego’s future.
Already there are what the White’s call ‘Destination Shirts,’ t-shirts emblazoned with the name and logo of the Redneck Boot Shop hanging high along the wall. Their Promotions Manager, Dave Radigan, noted that there’s not another store like the Redneck Boot Shop for a hundred miles around. “You’d have to go to Auburn or Williamsport to find this kind of quality, made in America, authentic Western wear,” Radigan said.
Radigan also said that so far, business has been good for the White’s. During their grand opening celebration on April 4, Radigan said that the Redneck Boot Shop was already on its second shipment of hats in its third day of business.
But it was Chris and Irene White that were the center of attention during the Grand Opening, along with their kids and family. Like Chris White Home Improvement, their new store is family owned and run, the difference being that their new venture features clothing, accessories, and products for the whole family. With the beautifully restored and remodeled interior as welcoming as your grandmother’s kitchen, there’s something for everyone and all ages waiting to be discovered inside.
The White’s want their new business to become a destination, a hangout. Someplace you can bring your children for live music and line dancing and have a wonderful family experience. “We want this to be a place where you can bring your kids and not have to worry about what they’ll hear,” Chris White said.
“You can’t do anything like this without a good wife behind you,” White said while looking lovingly at Irene, “we’re a strong couple.”
