Joliet Kreamers Grand Opening: 'It Feels Good'

JOLIET, IL — One of the goals of downtown Joliet boosters is to generate more foot traffic. At noon Friday, a highly anticipated new retail store opened at 173 North Chicago St. and several customers were on hand to mark the occasion and buy merchandise.

Joliet Kreamers is the area's first sneaker boutique, according to Tyrell Hundley. He owns and operates Joliet Kreamers along with John Pizano. Prior to Friday's grand opening, Joliet Kreamers has been an online sneaker group where people buy, sell and trade all sorts of shoes.

Joliet Kreamers also sells windbreakers, shirts, wrist bracelets and caps.

Hundley said he had about 180 pairs of sneakers available for purchase at Friday's grand opening. His new retail store will stay open noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

"It feels good," Hundley told Joliet Patch during Friday's grand opening. "We have everything from kids to adults, sweatshirts, windbreakers, shoes. It's like the first sneaker boutique near Joliet."

He and Pizano said they expect to draw most of their customers from Joliet, Plainfield, New Lenox, Crest Hill, Lockport and Shorewood.

"I love being in downtown Joliet," Pizano said. "It's in the heart of Joliet. You've got the walk-in traffic."

The owners of Joliet Kreamers say they are fortunate to have a strong social media following. Until now, Hundley and Pizano ran Joliet Kreamers as an online-based business for people to buy and trade sneakers.

The word Kreamers, more specifically Kream, comes from an acronym that is popular in the sneaker community: Kicks Rule Everything Around Me.

"Social media has really helped to support us," Hundley said Friday. "A lot of people have reached out and supported us."