Rios of Mercedes
- Headquarters
- Mercedes, TX
- Manufacturing
- Mercedes, TX
- Categories
- boots-and-work-footwear
Rios of Mercedes makes cowboy boots by hand in its own factory in Mercedes, in Texas’s lower Rio Grande Valley. The Rios family traces its bootmaking to 1853 in Nuevo León, moved to the Valley in the early twentieth century, and opened a shop in Mercedes in 1929. Zeferino Rios sold it to investors from West Texas in the late 1960s, and the Evans family, who bought out the business in the 1970s, still run it with their in-laws.
Every boot in the stock collection ends its specification with “Handmade In Mercedes, Texas”, and the factory is independently documented. Texas Highways called it “a corporate boot factory that to this day turns out thousands of pairs of boots a year” in 2019, a 2023 Texas Bucket List episode toured it, and a federal workplace-safety record from 2021 lists a footwear manufacturer at the same Mercedes address.
The boots sit at the second mark because of the leather. The brand’s own FAQ says its exotic boots are “made of imported leathers such as Ostrich, Caiman Alligator, Elephant, Lizard”, and ten of the 23 stock boots use ostrich, caiman or elephant. The cowhide, calf and goat on the rest are not placed. The building of the boot happens in Mercedes; the skins it is built from are, in large part, imported.
Rios of Mercedes does not sell to the public directly. Its boots are bought from western-wear retailers. The same owners also sell two lower-priced lines, Horse Power and Macie Bean, which they say are built in Guanajuato, Mexico. Those carry their own names and are not covered here.
Domain record
riosofmercedes.com was registered on .It dates the domain, not the business: a maker that moved to a new address reads young here, and an old domain says nothing about who holds it now.
RDAP registry record · checked 27 Sep 2026
The record
The stock boots are marked as handmade in Mercedes, Texas
“Handmade In Mercedes, Texas”
riosofmercedes.comRetrieved
The exotic boots are made from imported leathers
“Our Exotic Boots are made of imported leathers such as Ostrich, Caiman Alligator, Elephant, Lizard”
riosofmercedes.comRetrieved
Texas Highways describes Rios of Mercedes as a boot factory still producing in Mercedes
“Zeferino would sell to investors from West Texas in the late ’60s, establishing Rios of Mercedes, a corporate boot factory that to this day turns out thousands of pairs of boots a year.”
texashighways.comRetrieved
A 2023 Texas Bucket List episode toured the Mercedes boot factory
“Taking a tour of a big boot manufacturing facility in the far south part of our state is a fascinating stop on The Texas Bucket List.”
thetexasbucketlist.comRetrieved
OSHA records a footwear-manufacturing establishment at the factory address, under the company's legal name
“Site Address : Western Leather Goods, Inc. 1750 E Expwy 83 Mercedes, TX 78570”
osha.govRetrieved
A 2014 Texas Border Business profile reported the company's factory workforce
“They operate two factories, and employ approximately 110 employees between both factories, manufacturing beautiful boots.”
texasborderbusiness.comRetrieved
Products
Where to buyR9002 Stock Boot, Rust Burnished Crazyhorse
Where to buyR9014 Stock Boot, Nicotine Full Quill Ostrich
Where to buyR9026 Stock Boot, Black Sleek Buffalo Calf
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