Monday, June 2, 2008

West End’s Wild Bill’s Western Store is Dallas landmark

By Minnie Payne

DALLAS — Billy Dewbre, 60-year-old owner of West End’s Wild Bill’s Western Store, and his family first lived on Cross Street and Fitzhugh Street in Dallas, which is now the parking lot for the Texas State Fair.

“My dad was from Oklahoma and in the boot-making business,” Dewbre said. “When I was eight or nine years old, I slept on a leather bench and my dad taught me how to hand lace leather billfolds, purses and other hand-tooled items.”

With its 1800s original cedar beams, its marble antique bar, and its fireplace, Dewbre’s nearly 6,000-square-foot western wear store far outshines his dad’s business, Dewbre Leather Craft, Inc., which was originally located on 2nd Avenue until he moved to downtown Dallas.

“We invite our customers to have a seat at the bar on a real saddle and watch steam flow into the air from a Texas longhorn steer while an associate custom steams a hat just for them,” he said. “Or listen while I do a little ‘picking and grinning’ on my guitar as I often do when celebrities stop by.”

Dewbre was born and grew up in the Dallas area. He attended Irving High School and MacArthur High School, but never graduated.

“I joined the Army at age 20 and served in the Vietnam War,” he said. “After I got out of the Army, I took my GED and attended El Centro College and Mountain View College for about four years.”

He said that he went to work with his dad at age 23 and started his own business, “Rockin – D”, on Commerce and Field Streets in the 1970s. He did this by investing in a $10 necklace and kept reinvesting by traveling to Arizona and buying handmade jewelry from the Indians which he sold in his store.

“I expanded the boot inventory and other western products and within six months I bought another store called C Bar D, which later became Dallas Western Wear and then Wild Bill’s Western Store,” Dewbre said. “After that we moved to the corner of Commerce and Ervay, across from Neiman-Marcus, and stayed there about 10 years.

“While we were at that location, we were offered an opportunity to pioneer a location at the historical West End Marketplace.”

After 9/11, he said that business slowed down at the Marketplace and they were informed that the Marketplace was closing.

“The area merchants and mayor of Dallas asked me to somehow find a way to stay in the West End area,” he said. “The old Lombardi’s Restaurant was for lease and in just a few weeks a ‘deal was cut’ and work begun.”

According to Dewbre, he planned the new store so as to create an atmosphere of warmth and friendliness wherein customers would feel that they were at a best friend’s house.

Dewbre said that not only can one find an excellent selection of competitively-priced western wear at his West End store, but he also stages western corporate events at which gifts are given to VIPs.

“We can set up western towns and do pretty much anything with a western theme,” he said. “It’s not unusual for a company to order thousands of custom-fit hats, boots, or buckles as favors for their guests.

“Custom branding irons with corporate logos, which can be taken home and used as paper weights or office decorations, are used for branding hats or steaks.”

Dewbre said that he often works with the Dallas Convention Business Bureau and the state of Texas, helping them bring corporate events to the DFW area.

“The main thing that we want to do in our retail business is bring in the best products at the best price,” he said. “Any store can sell a pair of boots – it takes a great store to sell a great pair of boots and western product and guarantee them.

“We beat the so-called warehouse stores every day and when you come into our store, you will see happy people concerned about taking care of you.”

Jo Trizila was chairman for a recent Big Brothers and Big Sisters event that Dewbre hosted.

“The biggest hit of the ball was that every person who attended received a custom fitted hat,” Trizila said. “Bill and his team were available on site to fit and size each person on the spot.

“It was evident from the very beginning of the night that without the hats the excitement would be missing – it’s rare to meet someone who is able to adapt, go with the flow and most importantly go above and beyond the call of duty.”

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