- Credibility:
HUMBOLDT PARK — A handful of vintage shops in Humboldt Park are teaming up during the coronavirus pandemic — and they need your help.
Vintage shops along North Avenue between Western and California avenues closed their doors last weekend because of safety concerns related to coronavirus, said Lynn McDaniel, who owns An Orange Moon, 2418 W. North Ave.
Until it’s safe to reopen, store owners are encouraging shoppers to buy items online.
“We want everybody to really start using the website,” McDaniel said. “They use it for Amazon and all the big box stores. Use it for the little guys, too.”
In light of the store closures, some shops are offering free curbside delivery or a 10 percent-off discount. McDaniel nicknamed the discount the “coronavirus special,” because, “1+9=10,” she said. (The virus is named COVID-19).
If people do not purchase items online or offer monetary support, vintage shops across Chicago risk closure as they attempt to keep up with rent, inventory and payroll, McDaniel said.
“It’s crucial that the small businesses in Chicago get support,” she said. “We want to be around, we want to stay in the community.”
McDaniel opened An Orange Moon with her husband, Ty McDaniel, about a decade ago in Gage Park. The store focuses on mid-century modern furniture.
RELATED: Humboldt Park’s Reclaimed ‘WOW District’ Thrives ‘West of Western’
Though the McDaniels live in Hyde Park, they decided to move their businesses to the Humboldt Park-Bucktown border after learning how tight-knit the area’s vintage community was.
Lynn McDaniel founded the WOW (West of Western) District about five years ago as a way to draw attention to the vintage-packed area. An Orange Moon will celebrate 11 years of business in May.
“The vintage community in Chicago … is such a small community, we are such a niche community,” McDaniel said. “I also believe small businesses are the glue that hold communities together.”
Shops comprising the WOW District and others in the nearby include Strange Lovely, Richards Fabulous Finds, Circa Modern, Witt Modern, Recycled Modern, Dial M for Modern, House of Hipsters, Squasht, Velvet Goldmine, Lost Girls Vintage, Store B Vintage, Vintage Underground and many others.
Block Club Chicago’s coronavirus coverage is free for all readers. Block Club is an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom.
Subscribe to Block Club Chicago. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.
Already subscribe? Click here to support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.
