gay mart windows covered, may 4
photo credit // anthony meade
Gay Mart will reopen with new name and management
Chicago, IL -
Sunday, May 4, the owner of Gay Mart placed brown paper in the store front windows, locked the doors and told customers to visit their Facebook page for more information.
"LAST 2 DAYS OF STOREWIDE SALES! AFTER SUNDAY, WE WILL BE CLOSED FOR A LITTLE OVER A WEEK FOR RENOVATIONS AND WILL BE LAUNCHING A NEW ONLINE STORE!," read a Facebook post from May 3.
The sudden closing left many curious as to what was happening to the popular Boystown store located at 3457 N. Halsted.
Calls by ChicagoPride.com last week to owner Shelly Rosenbaum were not returned. But in a brief email statement published May 15 by Windy City Times, Rosenbaum said, "I have closed Gay Mart. It will reopen as Boystown T's and Collectibles under new management in about a week; smaller space same product line. I will be there to assist Chris, the new owner."
Gay Mart opened at the corner of Halsted and Cornelia in 1993 and has long been a destination for locals and anyone visiting from out of town. The store carried LGBT pride items and accessories from t-shirts and flags to calendars, cards and fun novelties.
Update, May 18, 2014: "I've loved it, but Gay Mart has had its time," Gay Mart owner Shelly Rosenbaum told Windy City Times in a new interview. "We had some very loyal customers. The reason I stayed in business for as long as I did was because of [them]."
"LAST 2 DAYS OF STOREWIDE SALES! AFTER SUNDAY, WE WILL BE CLOSED FOR A LITTLE OVER A WEEK FOR RENOVATIONS AND WILL BE LAUNCHING A NEW ONLINE STORE!," read a Facebook post from May 3.
The sudden closing left many curious as to what was happening to the popular Boystown store located at 3457 N. Halsted.
Calls by ChicagoPride.com last week to owner Shelly Rosenbaum were not returned. But in a brief email statement published May 15 by Windy City Times, Rosenbaum said, "I have closed Gay Mart. It will reopen as Boystown T's and Collectibles under new management in about a week; smaller space same product line. I will be there to assist Chris, the new owner."
Gay Mart opened at the corner of Halsted and Cornelia in 1993 and has long been a destination for locals and anyone visiting from out of town. The store carried LGBT pride items and accessories from t-shirts and flags to calendars, cards and fun novelties.
Update, May 18, 2014: "I've loved it, but Gay Mart has had its time," Gay Mart owner Shelly Rosenbaum told Windy City Times in a new interview. "We had some very loyal customers. The reason I stayed in business for as long as I did was because of [them]."
