LINCOLN PARK — Those mourning the impending demolition of the "Family Matters" house on Wrightwood Avenue might find a little solace at SGMC Classics.
John Agnello's '80s-'90s nostalgia clothing company, which dates to his days selling snapback hats out of his dorm room at the University of Dayton, has opened a pop-up store at 810 W. Armitage Ave. And the immediate response has been so strong, there are no signs of it going anywhere soon.
"I just extended for another month," Agnello said Friday. "The response has been crazy. You've got kids from all over coming out here.
"I get a wide range," he added. "I get kids as young as 13 years old coming in here. Then you've got the kids from Lincoln Park" High School, as they go by on the way to the CTA Armitage station. "And then you've got kids from DePaul also coming over."
That's in addition to the 35-year-olds who "want a piece of the past," he said, in the form of an Air Jordan snapback hat or a Nike gym suit or just a classic Levi's denim jacket.
The appeal is timeless as well as nostalgic. "It's a little of both, I would say," Agnello added. "Everything I sell is classics. It's nostalgic as well. It brings you back to the past."
T-shirts are a big part of it, from Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell and Kobe Bryant shirts to what Agnello said some refer to as "the GOAT T" — with Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson and Macauly Culkin: the greatest basketball star, pop star and child star of all time. And of course there's a wall of snapbacks.
" snap goes my cap" pic.twitter.com/g7IWifWmK5
— SGMC (@snapgoesmycap) August 31, 2017
SGMC was named as an abbreviation for "Snap Goes My Cap." The business grew well beyond the snapback hats, although they led Agnello to create SGMC Classics as an online sales company in 2011. He moved to Chicago bringing the business along with him three years ago, shortly after graduating from Dayton.
"I made a lot of friends in Dayton who were from here," Agnello said. He started traveling here on business trips and to work with artists — who have since included Chance the Rapper and Wiz Khalifa — "and I ended up loving Chicago."
The Armitage pop-up is his first real store, having opened at the end of August, but the way the response has been it likely won't be the last. Agnello has already extended the lease through October.
"It's possible we might move around the city," Agnello said, "but it's been a great spot so far, so I'll be here a little bit."
