For more than three decades, a piece of the American West has lived quietly on Boulevard Adolphe Max in the heart of Brussels.
In a city better known for Art Nouveau façades and European institutions, the Western Shop has built a loyal following around cowboy boots, Stetson hats and authentic workwear. But on 31 December 2026, the store will close for good. Its founder, François Chladiuk, the Belgian Buffalo Bill, has decided it is time to move on.
François Chladiuk, the Belgian Buffalo Bill. Credit: The Brussels Times/Léa Huppe
“I’ve always said that at 38 I stopped working,” he jokes to The Brussels Times. “Since then, I’ve just lived my passion.”
Chladiuk, 73, opened the Western Shop in 1990, turning a lifelong fascination with the American West into a profession. As a child, he played the old-fashion schoolyard game, 'Cowboys and Indians'. As a teenager, he began collecting Western artefacts. As an adult, he chose to build a business rooted in authenticity.
“Everyone is a little bit of a cowboy”
From the start, Chladiuk refused the costume-shop approach. No carnival outfits, no cheap imitations. Instead, he worked directly with suppliers in the United States, Mexico and Canada to offer high-end boots, traditional Western shirts and iconic hats from brands such as Stetson.
He also stocked genuine workwear from Carhartt — not the streetwear trend, but the functional clothing worn by ranchers and labourers. “The kind you have seen in series like Yellowstone”, he says.
Over time, the Western Shop became more than a retail space. It evolved into a meeting point for a diverse community - country dancers, horse riders, Americana enthusiasts and collectors.
“Everyone is a little bit of a cowboy somewhere,” Chladiuk likes to say. The shop has also attracted well-known visitors, including musicians such as Bruce Springsteen and Robert Plant, alongside Belgian and French artists and even members of the royal family.
Yet the atmosphere remained informal. “Here, they’re at home,” he says. “It’s not a luxury boutique where everyone stands at attention.”
An impressive collection of cowboys boots. Credit: The Brussels Times/Léa Huppe
150 trips to the United States
The decision to close the store is not driven by financial hardship, but by time. Chladiuk will turn 74 this year, and although he still travels regularly to the United States (he recently completed his 150th trip) he believes there comes a moment to step back. “Otherwise, one day you’ll come here and find me dead in my armchair in the shop,” he says bluntly.
He owns the building, and while his son who has worked alongside him for 25 years will open a smaller shop in the Namur region, the Brussels storefront will disappear. After 36 years, the Western Shop will leave the capital’s retail landscape.
A world-class collection
Above the racks of boots and hats hidden upstairs lies what Chladiuk considers his life’s work: a remarkable collection of 158 Native American artefacts acquired in 2004. The pieces, discovered in eight trunks, were later identified as belonging to members of a Native American family who travelled to Brussels for the 1935 World Exhibition.
A world-class collection of Native American artefacts. Credit: The Brussels Times/Léa Huppe
Through painstaking research and historical photographs, more than 50 items have been matched to the individuals who wore them making it one of the most thoroughly documented collections of its kind.
Westerner Show Award
In 2018, Chladiuk became the first European to receive the prestigious Westerner Show Award for his work. The collection has since been exhibited internationally, including at the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels, at the Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave in Colorado, and at the Musée des Confluences in Lyon, where it attracted 386,000 visitors despite pandemic restrictions.
Chladiuk has chosen to donate the collection to a museum in Lyon. Credit: The Brussels Times/Léa Huppe
Rather than selling the pieces, some of which could fetch extraordinary sums, Chladiuk has chosen to donate the collection to the Musée des Confluences. “I want to make sure the collection remains intact and accessible to the public,” he explains.
As the countdown to December 2026 begins, the Western Shop’s closure marks the end of a singular chapter in Brussels’ commercial history. But for François Chladiuk, it is not an ending, only a shift. The storefront may disappear, yet the passion that built it will continue to travel for the Belgian Buffalo Bill that he is.
