Fashion

Aspen Western Wear Favorite Is Coming to Rice Village, Opening Up a New Pop-Up Store With Major Hat and Celebrity Power

Kemo Sabe Arrives Just In Time For Rodeo Season

By Shelby Hodge // Feb 22, 2023

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Kemo Sabe brings its high-style Western wear and accessories to Rice Village with a pop-up coinciding with the run of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo.

We’ve been fans of specialty Western wear emporium Kemo Sabe since it opened on Aspen’s South Galena Street three decades ago. So we are looking forward to the new Kemo Sabe pop-up store set to open in Rice Village this Thursday, February 23.

Kemo Sabe will be offering its new high-end cowboy duds and accessories at the new pop-up store through March 11. Dates that coincide with the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, of course. The outfitters roadhouse crew is back in town with Western wear essentials reviving the same location of its successful pop-up held last year at 2412 University Boulevard, next door to CB2.

“We are excited to partner with Rice Village during this rodeo event and in bringing our premier product offerings to Houston during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo,” Kemo Sabe owner and president Wendy Kunkle says in a statement. “This event and the iconic Rice Village is the perfect fit for our company, which prides itself on creating a memorable experience for our customers.”

Western boots are featured in the Kemo Sabe pop-up opening in Rice Village. (Photo courtesy of Kemo Sabe)

The pop-up is loaded with top selections of hats, boots, buckles, knives, vintage jewelry, apparel and much more. Among the items available are the legendary one-of-a-kind Kemo Sabe Grit hats. These hats have been worn by celebrities such as Beyoncé, Katie Couric, William H. Macy, Shawn White and more. Fans will recall that in 2021, Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos wore the iconic Grit hat and red boots from the Aspen shop on his venture into space.

Kemo Sabe, which translates into trusted scout or faithful friend, was founded by Nancy and Tom Yoder in Snowmass, Colorado, in 1990. It first opened in a humble 400-square-foot space chock-a-block with a mishmash of Western goods. Over the decades, Kemo Sabe has evolved into a sophisticated business with high-end Western wear and accessories and with shops in Vail, Las Vegas and most recently Park City, Utah. It regularly opens up pop-up shops in Round Top, Dallas, Nashville and Las Vegas too.

Now Houston getting in on the Western fun for the second straight season Rodeo season.