Counterculture clothing store ‘The Alley’ to close its Lakeview storefront to expand online business

CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The counterculture clothing store “The Alley,” in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, is moving and shifting focus to a largely on-line business model.

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The counterculture clothing store “The Alley,” in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, is moving and shifting focus to a largely on-line business model.

“It’s the boss, guess what? We are moving.”

The boss, the owner of The Alley, Mark Thomas made the announcement in a video posted on social media.

“We’ve done pretty good over here. We’ve actually done well after COVID, but the future is the internet,” Thomas said. “We need to grow. We need to grow into this. We need to change our business model.”

The new location, on the 2600 block of West Fletcher, is expected to be open early next month.

“The building over on Fletcher has got 120 of our music and art tenants. It’s where we do all our manufacturing and all of our website. It is time to go,” Thomas said. “The last day is this Saturday at 6 p.m., so you can get one last shot at the little bit of The Alley in Lakeview.”

The Alley has been in business for more than 40 years.

Fans will have a last chance to visit the Lakeview location, located at 843 W. Belmont Ave., on Saturday.