El Encanto Boots: New business is all about the boots

Carlos Rodriguez knows his boots, and he loves telling people about them. Some of those different boots include traditional western style; Bulldogs, which are very popular with young people these days;  work boots; boots with zippers; short boots; dress boots and many others. “People love the boots, and we sell everything,” Mr. Rodriguez said Tuesday, […]

Carlos Rodriguez knows his boots, and he loves telling people about them. Some of those different boots include traditional western style; Bulldogs, which are very popular with young people these days;  work boots; boots with zippers; short boots; dress boots and many others.

“People love the boots, and we sell everything,” Mr. Rodriguez said Tuesday, Aug. 1, while showing the QCBJ some of those boots inside his new El Encanto Boots. The store is located at 918 Fourth Ave, Moline, in the city’s Floreciente neighborhood. El Encanto Boots, which opened for business in May and had a grand opening ceremony in early July, sells a wide variety of boots and other merchandise. The family-owned business specializes in high-quality merchandise – mainly boots – imported from Mexico. The business is owned by Mr. Rodriguez and his wife, Johanna Samudio. During grand opening activities in July, Moline Mayor Sangeetha Rayapati called the opening of the new business a very exciting development for the community that will help bring more people to Moline. Mr. Rodriguez said the new store’s merchandise is already creating a customer base and bringing people to Moline.

While showing some of the items bringing in the customers, he pointed out that his business sells a lot more than western style boots. For instance, he showed a style of work boot that is very popular with many people doing construction or home repair work in the area. “Look, these are very soft and comfortable for working,” he said. But he is most proud of a new feature in his new business – El Encanto now has its own brand of boots. Some of those El Encanto branded boots are now on display in the Moline business, and more will be arriving in the coming days. Mr. Rodriguez added that the store wants its own brand to help ensure that the store has the highest quality of boots for its customers. In addition to the trendy footwear, El Encanto also offers many other products including belt buckles from Mexico, cowboy hats, wallets, shirts, blue jeans, baseball-style hats and more. The business home of El Encanto is a small storefront that is nearly directly across the street from Carmen’s Jewelry, a longtime Floreciente business.  Even though the place is small, Mr. Rodriguez said the building is a perfect fit for the new business – for now. In the future, if business continues to be good, there is always the possibility that El Encanto Boots will outgrow the little building and look for a bigger home, he indicated. “When we started this business, we wanted something not so big. We wanted to see if it works. So, this is a good place for us,” he said. The phone number for El Encanto is (631) 508-7784.