ANDERSONVILLE — A popular Andersonville men’s goods store is closing next week — but maybe just temporarily.
Co-founders Matthew Buccilla and Greg Lanier of Cowboys and Astronauts, 1478 W. Summerdale Ave., are stepping away from the business they opened in November 2017, they told Block Club. The store’s last day open will be March 6, Buccilla said.
The store sells everything from men’s clothing and accessories to grooming products and bartending tools. There’s also a host of National Park-themed products, including candles, inspired by Buccilla’s love of National Parks and childhood dream of being a park ranger, he said.
Buccilla said he’s been thinking about stepping back from the business for a while, and said it’s ultimately the right next step for him and Lanier, who are both business and life partners. The couple previously lived in Andersonville, but moved near the Indiana Dunes National Park during the COVID-19 pandemic to be closer to nature, Buccilla said.
“I’ve been torn with the pull, for me in particular, to the woods,” Buccilla said. “That’s where our home is now, and that’s where Greg is full-time as well.”
The store will close after March 6, but Buccilla and Lanier are putting out feelers to see if any entrepreneurs are interested in buying the business and reopening it, they said.
Cowboys and Astronauts “means a lot to us, and we recognize it means a lot to a lot of people,” Lanier said. “We believe in Andersonville, and we believe in the shop, and we would love to see it continue if at all possible in its current form.”
Andersonville was one of the first neighborhoods Buccilla visited in Chicago before moving here, he said. He moved to the city after he and Lanier dated long-distance for a short time, and eventually opened Cowboys and Astronauts, he said.
“It was something that I had been wanting to do for a very, very long time, and Greg was supportive of that,” Buccilla said. “We basically wanted to create a store — a shop and experience, if you will — that we wanted to be in and that we wanted our friends and neighbors to be in.”
Anyone with serious inquiries about taking over the business should reach out to Lanier and Buccilla at hello@cowboysandastronauts.com.
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