Leah Campos has been working at the Cowboy Center ever since she was a little girl. Starting out just sweeping floors, once she was old enough, her grandparents and parents taught her the ropes.

After moving to Gulf Breeze in 1993, she took a break from the family business. Occasionally she would make the trip to Miami to help. Then in 2017, Leah took up the reins and she has been running the show ever since. It was certainly a challenge to manage the business from so far away, and Leah dreamed of a day where she was closer to home and the beautiful Pensacola beaches.

Leah says that, “Getting the news the building was being sold had me both excited and nervous. We had a ton of inventory. So much so, a famous Cowboy Center motto was, ‘If we don’t have it, you probably don’t need it.’ Now, we had to figure out how to move it all to a new location hundreds of miles away.”

For Leah, closing the store wasn’t an option. The family business has thrived for decades and this was a fantastic opportunity to continue that legacy. The decision was followed by shutdowns, Covid restrictions, economic struggles, and logistics challenges. At times, it was hard for Leah to see the light at the end of the tunnel. None of this would have been possible without the overwhelming support from friends and family. Cookie Haviland, Leah’s aunt, deserves a special thanks. She was instrumental in helping Leah on this incredible journey. Now the Cowboy Center has a wonderful new home in Pensacola, Florida.