Branden Robinson Excited About The Niche's 2022 In Joliet

Joliet IL

30 December, 2021

1:37 AM

Description

JOLIET, IL — After opening his clothing store in downtown Joliet in June —eight months after a shooting on a nearby city sidewalk ruined his grand opening celebration, Branden Robinson is ready for retail sales to skyrocket in 2022 at The Niche. To get things started, Robinson is having a yellow tag sale now through the entire month of January. His address is 103 North Ottawa St. Suite C. "I'm ready to tackle the new year," Robinson told Joliet Patch's editor during Wednesday's interview at his store. "I want people to come in and experience it. Once people walk in, they like something. It's just about getting them here." Through Jan. 31, all clothing and merchandise inside The Niche is marked down, between 15 percent and 60 percent. The Niche is across the street from Joliet's Harrah's Casino & Hotel. It's one of two new clothing stores that opened this past summer in Joliet businessman Noe Patino's Plaza 66, at the corner of North Ottawa and Van Buren Streets. The other is The Artesano Store, run by Leo Gonzalez. Robinson said The Niche stays open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. He's closed Monday and Sunday. Branden Robinson opened The Niche on June 18. It's about a block from the Harrah's Casino. John Ferak/Patch During Wednesday's interview, Robinson told Patch that his first-ever yellow tag sale is in direct response to feedback from several customers. "A lot of people who came here and said the price was a little too high," Robinson acknowledged. "The yellow sticker price is really from hearing from the customers." The Niche features clothes for women, men and children. In addition to his large inventory of coats, sweatshirts, T-shirts and hoodies throughout the storefront, The Niche features belts with rhinestones as well as paintings. "I do sell art," Robinson added. Robinson said The Niche officially opened for business June 18. The Niche proclaims it sells high-quality women's clothing, men's clothing, accessories and more. John Ferak/Patch His June 18 opening was low-key, and that's required Robinson to rely on word of mouth, social media and customer loyalty to foster business growth for The Niche. Originally, The Niche held its grand opening in late October 2020, but the Saturday night event was marred by a horrific shooting right outside Robinson's new retail store. Around 8:40 p.m., a gunman inside a car opened fire. The bullets injured one of the employees and a customer as they stood along the sidewalk behind The Niche, Robinson said. The getaway car sped through the alley behind the old St. Mary Carmelite Church, getting away before Joliet police squad cars arrived. One of the victims was treated and released from a Joliet hospital, while the other victim, a 20-year-old woman, was flown to Loyola. At first, she was in critical condition, but Joliet police notified Patch that her condition was stabilized. "It was targeted at a customer," Robinson said Wednesday. "We helped out the victims. I went and dragged them and pulled them in (The Niche). We kept the pressure on their legs. They recovered fine." That night, "At least 60 people were in the store. It was packed," Robinson recalled. Some bullets even struck the windows of the new $215 million Will County Courthouse, a couple blocks away. A 25-year-old Joliet man who was arrested by Joliet police for having a gun in his possession was not the shooter, Robinson said. Within days of the shooting, city of Joliet officials put a red sticker on the building, which was renamed Plaza 66, by Joliet commercial developer Noe Patino. After several months of delays, The Niche opened in June in downtown Joliet and has remained open ever since. File/John Ferak.Patch Plaza 66 was not red-tagged because of the shooting, Robinson said. Rather, city building inspectors had not approved any occupancy licenses for the property. Back in 2018, Patino acquired the old Montgomery Ward building, and he has been renovating it ever since. An August mortgage foreclosure lawsuit filed against Patino's Investments has since been resolved, according to Will County court records. Patino told Joliet Patch the foreclosure lawsuit was simply a misunderstanding. In any event, The Niche remain closed the final two months of 2020 and the first five-and-a-half months of 2021. Then, with the city's authorization, Robinson opened The Niche on June 18. "I wanted to do another grand opening, but I didn't," Robinson said. The Niche sells high-quality women's clothing, men's clothing, accessories, and more, its Facebook page states. John Ferak/Patch According to Robinson, the sidewalk shooting from 14 months ago marked the last time there was any large presence of Joliet police around The Niche. With the shooting behind him, Robinson said he is looking forward to a strong year of retail sales in 2022 and expanding his customer base by a substantial margin. He's contemplating creating something similar to the popular "Kohl's Cash" coupons. Also, Robinson is letting people visiting the Will County Courthouse keep their cell phones at The Niche for a small fee of $1. He's already had several people take advantage of the service, he said. Visitors to the courthouse are not allowed to bring any cell phones into the building. Overall, Robinson said the key to his success in 2022 is selling clothes at prices customers find appealing and bringing in new top-of-the-line inventory. The Niche wants to be known for its wide variety of clothing apparel, Robinson said. Now through Jan. 31, The Niche has a yellow tag sale. John Ferak/Patch Most clothes at The Niche are marked down 30 to 40 percent for the sale, Robinson said. "It's going to be the whole month of January," Robinson stressed. "And anything without a ticket is still 15 percent off. Some is 50 percent or 60 percent. "This is a new venture. I want to see how this goes because if I can do a faster turnaround with lesser profit, that's fine with me. I want people to come in." Most of all, Robinson said he's enthused about the renewed success of retail stores and specialty shops continuing to open in downtown Joliet. The Niche features belts with rhinestones as well as paintings. John Ferak/Patch. Robinson said he's motivated about the prospect of joining the Joliet Chamber of Commerce in 2022. About a block away from The Niche, the owners of the Dragon's Den Shop in Willow Springs just opened their second retail store, at the corner of Ottawa and Clinton Streets, in Joliet. Dragon's Den features about 800 Funko pop vinyl figures as well as collectable toys such as Power Rangers, Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Transformers, G.I. Joe, Star Wars, sports, horror movies and more. In early December, Patch reported that Ashley Duncan and Jasmine Foster had opened their new photography storefront. It's a first of its kind for the Joliet area, called Studio 88 Selfie Suites, in downtown Joliet's historic Barber Building, along North Chicago Street. "It feeds off each other," Robinson said of downtown Joliet's retail growth. To learn more, visit Robinson's website for The Niche 815. Now through Jan. 31, The Niche has a yellow tag sale. John Ferak/PatchNow through Jan. 31, The Niche has a yellow tag sale. John Ferak/Patch