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Apparel For Adventure Seekers To Replace Wicker Park's Papajin

By Alisa Hauser | April 11, 2017 9:54am | Updated on April 11, 2017 12:39pm
 Wayward, a new retail shop that sells outdoor apparel for adventurers, plans to open in mid-May in the former Papajin.
Wayward, a new retail shop that sells outdoor apparel for adventurers, plans to open in mid-May in the former Papajin.
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DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser

WICKER PARK — Wayward, a Bellevue, Wa.-based shop for adventurers that sells bags, apparel and accessories from various rugged outdoor-focused brands, will replace the long shuttered Papajin restaurant.

According to signs in the window at 1551 N. Milwaukee Ave., Wayward will open in May.

A website for Wayward says it was "founded upon the principles of exploration, a gathering place for the dreamers, the seekers and the adventure enthusiasts."

Kevin Winkel, the brand's founder,said on Tuesday that the shop plans to open in mid-May and he is hiring around five workers in addition to a store manager role that has already been filled.

The Wicker Park store will be the second in the nation, following a Bellevue, Wa. Wayward shop, which opened last week.

Wayward's building permit lists Zumiez, a skating apparel company based in Washington, as the tenant for the Wicker Park outpost. Winkel said that while there is some history of himself and other Wayward folks working at Zumiez, which is helping the group in the process of building out the storefront, the ventures are separate.

Papajin — a Chinese restaurant which closed last year after 21 years in business — won't be returning to the street, as the owners of the Wicker Park mainstay eatery and Wayward Collective's landlord had first planned.

Papajin's one-story storefront was demolished last March and replaced with a new 4-story building anchored by retail with apartments upstairs.