Two years ago, Rachel Dennis was at a crossroads professionally and wanted to make a bold change.
They were bored and wanted more than the monotonous daily grind they were experiencing as a hairstylist at other people’s salons so they decided to open Rap Pop! Vintage Emporium and Rad Hair Salon in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood at 5820 N. Broadway on June 1, 2024. They also wanted to be able to bring their dogs Phoebe and Luna to work to keep them company.
Self-described queer butch dyke Dennis was raised outside of Philadelphia where they worked at restaurants and odd jobs before they went to cosmetology school at age 23. When Dennis graduated they worked for other salon owners for about 11 years, “half of the time doing booth rental. The booth rental salons are like shared kitchens.” They have worked as a hairstylist in Pennsylvania, Denver and Chicago.
While Dennis was renting a chair at a booth rental salon they started to sell vintage items they purchased at estate sales on their shelves instead of hair care products, which proved to be a successful idea.
“December 2023 is when I first started to think about opening my own shop,” said Dennis. “I kept having dreams about opening a door in either of my grandmothers’ homes which lead to rooms of old things and racks of vintage clothing. I chose the name Rad Pop as homage to myself and to the vintage stores I grew up shopping at. Rad is my initials and my fav small shops in town were ‘Pop Deluxe!’ and ‘Zap n Co!’ So I knew I wanted a zippy catchy name.”
A few months after Dennis opened their shop a customer told them their building had been a gay bar, His ‘n Hers, owned by the late Marge Summit. This was the location Summit had to move to after the Chicago Transit Authority forced her to move from her location underneath the Addison L stop.
“Marge was quoted saying she had to ‘move to a shithole down Broadway’ which I find funny,” said Dennis. “I’m so honored to have my shop in the location where Marge did her Gay$ activist movement work so the City of Chicago would see how many queer individuals spend their money at establishments in the city and that they deserve equal rights. We literally have no doubt our queer ancestors helped us secure this perfect spot for the shop.”
When Dennis opened their shop they immediately hired two of their hairstylist friends, Hayley Huckaba and Timothy White, with whom they worked in salons. Dennis’ first vintage vendor for their mini-antique mall emporium other than themselves was their best friend Patti Jakab (Flower Power Furnishings) who has helped them ever since.
“Over the years we have lost and gained other vendors,” said Dennis. “We have a great team now of mostly queer people. I like to showcase our queerness to the public by making it very apparent in our online presence, the events we put on and the flags we fly outside the shop.”
The other two vendors are Liz Fahey (Moon Woman Vintage) and Cammie Villanueva (Revival a GO-GO). Dennis said working with these two women “has made me a better business owner. They are so committed to their craft and curation. I’m truly lucky to have them in my shop.”
Dennis said the clientele who come to their store are people who love affordable good vintage items. They also said customers are shocked at the fair prices for a curated vintage shop. Dennis added, “We shop affordably so we can still sell our vintage for a sustainable price.”
Most of the items for sale are clothing, jewelry, housewares and framed art. Dennis said the coolest and most unique things they have ever sold was a box of leather memorabilia to multiple buyers. They felt privileged to find the right homes for these items with the “super unique and rare items going to an elder gay archivist in San Francisco.”
Inspired by Andersonville’s walkable shops, Dennis commissioned a “walkable vintage map” to showcase Edgewater’s Vintage Row shortly after they opened their shop/salon in the neighborhood. Dennis has organized many themed Vintage Crawls using the map, encouraging the community to shop small and sustainable in Edgewater.
Dennis will hold an Edgewater Dyke Day Sept. 20 from noon to 4 p.m. at their shop/salon where the queer community will come together for a garden party filled with group activities, games and vendors. The goal of this event is to build community and support the neighborhood’s queer owned shops.
“We will donate a percentage of our sales during the garden party to the Edgewater food pantry Care 4 Real, our next door neighbors,” said Dennis.
Recently, Dennis had a church reach out to them about buying vintage from them to help support their free store, which helps immigrants, the unhoused or low-income people “get back on their feet.” The church relies on donations to fill their shop.
“They sell the vintage clothing to me and use the money they make to buy new bedding and undergarments to give away,” said Dennis. “I’ve come to really enjoy the humans who run the shop and dedicate their time to organizing it. It’s great to feel our money is going to a good place. In general, even random estate sales put money into the families of the homeowners who either need to pay for care of their elderly parents or pay for funeral costs.”
This past May, Rad Pop! Vintage Emporium was chosen to curate a thrift lab market at the Griffith Museum of Science and Industry’s first vintage market. Dennis was also asked to speak on a panel alongside others about sustainability.
Dennis said they think small businesses like theirs are “so important during this imperialistic nightmare we live in, because you know where your money is going, which is in your community and neighborhood.” They added the soon-to-be-four queer stylists (including themselves) care deeply about their work and clients and have built deep community connections. Dennis said the shop’s items have been cleaned and mended “with such care” so they can get a “second life.”
Rad Pop! Vintage Emporium is open Thursday and Friday from 12-7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Dennis said the fourth stylist will come onboard in September to accommodate the influx of salon clients who are looking to book appointments.
