'Shoes Are For Everyone': Joliet Kreamers Has Target Date To Open

JOLIET, IL — After spending four years in the U.S. Marines stationed in North Carolina, and deployed overseas to Germany, Ireland and Norway, Joliet Central High School graduate Tyrell Hundley has set his sights on making his sneaker business, Joliet Kreamers, into a thriving retail storefront in the heart of the city's downtown.

"We range from $50 (sneakers) to $1,500," Hundley said. "It's a lot of different street wear and different apparel."

"We don't take anything and everything. When I was deployed, I went to sneaker school. I can tell when a sneaker is fake."

Until now, Hundley ran Joliet Kreamers as an online-based business for people to buy and trade sneakers. This summer, Hundley and his friends are in the midst of renovating the former Bey Shah Hair Boutique that operated at 173 North Chicago St. for decades.

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

As for his future storefront, Hundley said the boutique was run by his grandmother for more than 30 years, and that's how he wound up with the property for Joliet Kreamers.

The building has about 2,000 square feet.

The main interior renovations consist of replacing all the ceiling tiles, painting the store and installing vinyl planks.

He will also have a Key Master Arcade Game inside the Joliet Kreamers store that people can try their luck at winning different sneakers, with some ranging in price from $300 to $600.

When will Joliet Kreamers be ready to open?

"End of July was my goal, but August 6th is going to be the target date," he told Joliet Patch Monday.

"I wanted to open in the heart of Joliet. Joliet never had anything like this, and we ... wanted to give back to the community. I try to do everything from Nikes to Jordans. Shoes are for everyone, so there's different markets."

Hundley said he fully expects to have a few hundred pairs of sneakers available for purchase when he opens later this summer.

"We're trying to buy as much inventory as we can," he said.

When he was a high school student at Joliet Central, he and his friends agreed that they needed to do a sneaker group for Joliet, and that's how Joliet Kreamers came together. He said that fellow students and even some of his high school teachers began to wear Joliet Kreamers T-shirts.

Since then, it's grown in popularity, and that's why Hundley decided to open a Joliet Kreamers retail storefront in his hometown.

One of his partners in the business is John Pizano, he said.

While in the military, Hundley also wrote a small children's book that can be purchased on Amazon called, "A Kid With Sneakers And A Dream." He plans to have the book available for purchase inside Joliet Kreamers.

The tentative store hours for Joliet Kreamers are to be open from around 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and off Monday.

"I love Joliet," Hundley said. "I feel it has a lot of potential, not just downtown, but the entire city as well. I want there to be more foot traffic. I feel this is the heart of the city, so this is the perfect spot. There's no doubt in my mind."

To learn more about the Joliet Kreamers and its merchandise, visit its website here.