For Chris Conrad, founder and owner of Houston’s Republic Boot Co., it just made sense to buy a castle when the opportunity arose.
“When I married my wife, I said, ‘We’re going to have a crazy life. Let’s just go,'” he said last week, “Yeah. Now I’m buying a castle.”
The company’s first location, at 1133 E. 11th St in the Heights, is a trove of Texas history and culture. Visitors to the store, which sprawls over about 10,000 square feet in a building more than 100 years old, can see artisans stitch cowboy boots and shape cowboy hats as they have a beer and listen to live music…