Richmond's shop with 1,000 Mexican cowboy boots is expanding
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The family behind Bota Latina: Keller (left), Deyli, Kener and Petra Santos. Photo: Sabrina Moreno/Axios
Petra Santos started her Mexican cowboy boot business in a 5-by-5-foot booth at the Bellwood Flea Market.
- Sixteen years later, her family is opening its third store inside a 4,000-square-foot building in Midlothian.
Why it matters: Bota Latina on Hull Street has become a destination for Mexican western wear, drawing shoppers from Fredericksburg to Virginia Beach and fueling the family business's expansion.
The latest: Bota Latina's new store opens Nov. 7 at 7419 Midlothian Turnpike, featuring a custom cowboy hat bar where shoppers can shape their hats, choose brims and add personalized branding.
- It'll also carry American western brands like Durango, Ariat, and Tecovas, alongside the family's signature Mexican-made boots.
- But the original Richmond shop at 5521 Hull Street will stick with only Mexican-made western wear — the boots that started it all, Santos' daughter Deyli Navarro tells Axios.
Catch up quick: Santos launched the business in 2010 and moved into the Hull Street shop in 2016, which she and her three kids run and call "our OG store."
- Growing demand from Northern Virginia customers prompted a second location in Woodbridge in 2022.
Zoom in: The Richmond shop stocks over 1,000 boxes of boots, from classic leather to python, ostrich and even Amazonian fish skin.
- The boots come from artisans in León, Guanajuato, a Mexican city known for leatherworking and bootmaking, Petra's son Kener Navarro tells Axios.
- Boots start around $150, while cowboy hats range from $60 to more than $1,000 for premium beaver felt.
The intrigue: Some customers are buying these boots for Richmond's Mexican nightlife scene, dressing to impress at dance-offs, regional Mexican concerts and rodeo-style events, Deyli says.