HEWLETT & DUNN JEAN & BOOT BARN The Grand Ole Opry is not the only place you’ll find custom-made cowboy boots in Tennessee; they can also be found — and bought — in downtown Collierville at Hewlett & Dunn. Originally opened as a hardware store in 1961 by Harold Hewlett and Wilson Dunn, the business was bought by Jerry Gatewood in 1990. He continued the hardware operation for several years, but in the mid-1990s, when the “boot scootin’” craze was going strong, he transitioned the business from hardware to boots, and that change has remained in effect ever since. Today Hewlett & Dunn is known primarily for its wide selection of cowboy boots. The store serves discerning boot
aficionados from about a 100-mile radius, with an occasional visitor from as far away as Spain, and sometimes a celebrity customer. “We sold Steven Seagal three pairs of customs, once,” Gatewood says. Hewlett & Dunn carries almost 30 brands of boots, but if a customer doesn’t see exactly what he’s looking for, Gatewood will send an order to his bootmaker in El Paso, Texas, to make a pair especially to a customer’s liking. “We have a good many requests for handmade boots,” Gatewood says. “The customer decides what kind of material he wants, what type of heel, and any special decoration. It takes about three months for a specially ordered pair to be made.” About 75 percent of Hewlett & Dunn’s business is from the sale of boots, and most of Gatewood’s customers are men, because the store sells work boots as well as cowboy boots. “But the sale of women’s fashion boots is growing,” he says, “especially over the past two or three years.” Gatewood said his business prides itself on customer service, especially making sure customers get the best possible fit in a pair of boots. “We pay special attention to the arch,” he said. “Many times, people don’t realize the importance of the fit of the arch. We also make careful measurements of the toe.” Boot repair is also an important facet of Hewlett & Dunn’s customer service. “If a good pair of boots is repaired and treated well, they should last a long, long time,” Gatewood says.
As an interesting ‘side business,’ Hewlett & Dunn also stocks toy guns, including cowboy cap pistols that will be instantly recognizable to people “of a certain age,” that is, men who were young boys growing up in the 1950s. He also carries a line of toy guns made in Savannah, Tennessee. The sale of toy guns may be appropriate for Gatewood, because he served as a sniper with the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam for 10 months during the mid-1960s. “A bunch of us Hardeman County boys went and signed up for the military,” Gatewood recalled, “and they asked for volunteers for the Army. Well, they took the volunteers and sent us to the Marines.” When he returned home in 1968, Gatewood went to work for Wilson Dunn Hardware in Grand Junction, Tennessee, and eventually bought into the business. He remained as a partner in the mercantile operation until 1989, when he sold his share. Shortly after that, he bought the Hewlett & Dunn store in Collierville. Located on the Collierville Historic Town Square, Hewlett and Dunn employs four people and is open six days a week, Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. • Hewlett & Dunn Jean & Boot Barn 111 N. Center St. www.hewlettdunn.com (901) 853-2636
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