Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter Tour in Chicago might as well have been sponsored by Alcala's Western Wear.
"I would say about almost a quarter of people are going to be wearing our items," said Mani Alcala, Marketing Director at Alacala's Western Wear in West Town on Sunday, May 18, the last day of the Beyoncé Cowboy Carter Tour run in Chicago.
The store was founded by Alcala's grandfather Luis Alcala in 1972 to bring Mexican Western wear to Chicago. They offer 5,000 hats and 8,000 pairs of boots.
Beyoncé fans, or the BeyHive, he said, were not initially the target audience.
"We kind of figured that something would happen, that people would want to get into the whole 'Carter' look like she's been, but we didn't expect this much of a turnout," he said.
Beyoncé's Grammy-winning country-R&B album "Cowboy Carter" was released last year. Since then, fans have completely leaned into the Western influence for outfit inspiration for the Cowboy Carter tour.
And though not necessarily the intended demographic, Alcala said the store fully embraced Beyoncé mania, welcoming the new customers with open arms.
During Beyoncé weekend, the store was even blasting "Cowboy Carter" and staff were working one-on-one with fans to help them craft the perfect outfit.
"It's definitely a fashion show," Alcala said. "Bolo ties, boots, hats, anything you can think of, accessories, fringe, that she's been wearing, that's what they're looking for."
But he said the most popular item: bolo ties.
"I think it's the easiest accessory," he said. "We are almost sold out completely."
He said it's humbling to know that Alcala's gets to be a part of the memories made at Cowboy Carter Chicago and thanks Beyoncé for bringing in some new faces.
"I think it's great that she'd definitely helping out businesses like ours," he said. We're family owned, we've been here in Chicago for so long, and to see so many people rush in because of her, honestly, it's a blessing."
It's been a blessing for shoppers, too.
"I originally had a skirt, but when I found out that it was pretty cold, I knew that the skirt was not gong to work," said Paris Elliott.
She was at Alcala's on Sunday, the day of the third and last Beyoncé show in Chicago. She got to Alcala's right when they opened at 9:30 a.m. to find something that would be more suitable for the weather but still fit her Cowboy Carter vision.
"One of the representatives took me to some suede chaps," she explained. "It was the first thing I tried on and the only thing I'm buying because it worked perfectly."
Another fan, Kate, flew in for the Sunday show from Baltimore, Maryland. She said she had left Baltimore with an entire plan for her outfit, but ran into some trouble.
"It was all planned around this black cowboy hat I already had that I left in Baltimore," she said. "I was on Instagram last night. When I saw the owner here talking about the store and talking about how there are so many Beyoncé customers coming here ... I was like, 'Let me check it out and see if I can find a hat.'"
She did, eventually, find a hat to wear to the show, solving her brief fashion emergency.
"The options here are amazing," she said. "Anything you could want or need as far as Western wear is here."