ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — The seven-foot-tall red cowboy boots that greeted drivers outside Jackson’s Western Store for decades have come down as the business prepares to move for the I-26 Connector project.
“When you saw that, you knew you were here in Asheville,” said Nathan Jackson, the store’s manager. He said customers have been asking where the boots went. They’re in storage, and the store hopes to bring them back out for the public at a later date.
Jackson’s Western Store has been at its current location since 1972. Jackson said several generations of his family have grown up in the building.
“It’s heavy-hearted. It’s a little rough,” he said. “We know every square inch of this building, all the creaks of the floor, everything.”
The North Carolina Department of Transportation bought the property several years ago for the project. NCDOT spokesperson Stephanie Johnson said required inspections and asbestos abatement must happen before demolition…