The goods (from left): Indigo and flannel fall staples from Faherty and Roamers; waxed canvas travel duffel bag from The Normal Brand; Stetson hat.
There are men who like to shop, but the stereotype is that men don’t love shopping. And especially not for clothes.
Randy Westbrook is on a mission to transform that experience.
Westbrook, who opened R. Westbrook Mercantile in late July, thinks that retail can do better in creating “experience and connection.” He sees a place for brick-and-mortar stores in a suburban market, a physical site “where people can connect and enjoy and shop in a different way.”
Operating on that premise, Westbrook has created a retro den of sorts, with leather couches adjacent to a television, which just happens to have Atari and Nintendo hook-ups. There’s cornhole set up outside when the weather’s nice. Customers can be treated to a Kin-Kin espresso or a selection of beverages from a bar fridge. A barber shop is set up in the back corner, complete with chair, towel warmer, mirror and counter.
“Barbering and retail mashing together is happening all around the country right now,” says Westbrook. He hopes to ignite the trend in the Madison area by offering barbershop pop-ups celebrating such traditions as father-son haircuts.
Redwing’s Iron Ranger boots.
Westbrook’s events go beyond haircuts and beard trims. He’s planning to bring in local woodworkers, tanners and mixologists for some make-and-take events. He wants to be that location closer to home for guys who have “hunkered down for a decade with kids, and things start to ease up” and they’re looking to do more than just sit at a bar.
With a space that’s less than 1,000 square feet and no storeroom, Westbrook keeps his inventory small. His hottest product has been Mizzen and Main dress shirts, which are the ultimate in men’s dress shirts: odor-resistant, wrinkle-resistant, trim-fit, four-way stretch, no dry cleaning or ironing required. R. Westbrook Mercantile can also fill the void left by Sacred Feather, which closed earlier this summer, for those looking for the proper Stetson hat.
Westbrook draws women shoppers as well. He’s aware of how many women come in to do “prep work” for the men in their lives, either scouting products in advance or doing the buying themselves. He saw many women drawn to the jewelry and leather products he carried, so he decided to introduce unisex collections like Miansai and Pig&Hen.
Westbrook’s end goal is to offer a welcoming shopping spot to men and women, maybe even take customers back to simpler days. “I want people to feel at ease and surprised with how pleasant shopping can be.” It’s not the harried trip to the mall — here the “vibe is of slowing down.”
R. Westbrook Mercantile
1821 Parmenter St., Middleton; 608-841-1151; rwestbrook.com
Hours: 11 am-6 pm Mon.-Wed., 11 am-8 pm Thurs.-Sat.
