In the vibrant and eclectic neighborhood of Hyde Park in Chicago’s South Side, there is a retailer that defies a singular categorization. It is part clothing boutique, part music venue, part community hub, and part artist studio. The Silver Room is as diverse as the community it serves.

“I think The Silver Room is reflective of this community,” explained Eric Williams, founder and owner of this unique retail location. “The Silver Room kind of morphs day-to-day depending on who you are and what you need from the space. It will give you that. Sometimes folks need a place to come and vent, you know, come in and talk to us. We can talk about all kinds of stuff.”

The evolution of The Silver Room reflects the changing face of Chicago’s urban landscape. Williams launched his first iteration of the retail store in Wicker Park 27 years ago. Now located near The University of Chicago, this retailer embodies the community’s storied African American roots.

“I think a retail space should be reflective of the people who come, which usually are people who are in close proximity. So, because we’re in the South Side of Chicago, there’s a lot of things that are culturally specific to black folks on the South Side,” said Eric. “It may be T-shirts that talk about education or talk about it though stickers, sunglasses, even jewelry.”

But perhaps most important, The Silver Room serves as an outlet for local talent to shine.

“We have about 30 or 40 different local artists who make everything from jewelry, T-shirts, bags, hats, earrings, jewelry, apothecary,” explained Eric with pride in his voice. “So, it’s really important that we also are incubators for folks to make stuff.”

”Especially now, people want to have a sense of being an individual. That’s like the number one question people ask. ‘Is this like a locally-made vendor?’ ‘Oh, yeah, this guy lives down the street, actually. He made your shirt,’” Eric explained. “So, having this connection between local and local black-owned folks who are making stuff is very important. And people know where that stuff is coming from. It’s not just made overseas somewhere. They can actually talk to this person.”

From street vendor to community cornerstone

The odyssey of The Silver Room is as cool and memorable as the space itself, rooted in the episodic journey of Eric Williams from finance student to street vendor to successful entrepreneur.

Initially, Eric enrolled at Northern Illinois University and studied there three years before transferring to University of Illinois-Chicago, which happened to be next to the Maxwell Street Market, with its rich array of foods and cultural finds.

“When I was in school for finance, I would see these people down the street selling all kind of stuff. They would have jewelry and T-shirts and all kind of stuff. I became very interested in this open-air market, and I didn’t have any money, so I had to get a job,” Eric recalled. “I had a friend who was a street vendor. He said, ‘Hey, you can sell T-shirts on the streets. You can make more than you can make at this little Taco Bell thing I was working at.’ I bought some T-shirts, and I think I bought some hats and some roses that lit up. We went on the corner and we sold them. I made like $300 or $400.”

What started as a quick way to earn a little extra money for college turned into the entrepreneurial education of a lifetime.

“I learned how to get stuff wholesale,” explained Eric. “I was manufacturing stuff. I was doing my printing, importing stuff. I kind of learned the game from just being a street vendor to, ‘Okay, where are they getting it from? What’s the source of this?'”

When it came time to establish his brick-and-mortar store, Eric said he drew inspiration from an unexpected source – his father’s blues bar.

“My friend and I were in the car filling out paperwork to start the business and had to think of a name. My father had a place called Manny’s Blue Room. It was a blues bar. His favorite color was blue. So, she’s like, ‘Well your father has a blue room.’ And I said, ‘Well I’m selling silver. What about The Silver Room?'”

Eric Williams seems to have a magic touch for getting things to run smoothly and a charm that galvanizes community engagement.

“I realized the need for space. My friends would say, ‘Hey, can I have a book signing? I don’t have a space to do a book signing.’” explained Eric. “We do classes here. Learn how to DJ. Learn how to dance. So, it’s a little bit of everything. I don’t limit the space to just retail. It’s whatever is needed. We’ve done everything here except for a funeral. We’ve had two weddings here. I would have a funeral if we had to do it,” Eric chuckled with a whimsical warm laugh.

“I created this space for us. It’s my store. It’s our store,” Eric said. “I think that’s been the success of it. It’s been a collaboration from the people that work here, me, and our community.”

A store with a local flavor

The Silver Room glistens with energy as a microcosm of Hyde Park itself. In a neighborhood known for its mix of university students, long-time residents, and political figures – even former President Obama has a residence just blocks away – Eric says The Silver Room is emblematic of the diverse tapestry of Hyde Park.

“Who’s the typical shopper? One, is the long time Hyde Parker who has a lot of pride in their community,” explained Eric. “They come here and they want to shop for themselves. They want to buy earrings. They want to buy, you know, jewelry. They want to buy nice candles for the house. I would say the second is the students. Students come here to get gifts. Also, the students’ parents come here to buy gifts for their kids. You also have tourists that come to Hyde Park. I’ve seen tourism grow over the last eight years because they want to get here from downtown. It’s great. So, they catch the bus and come to Hyde Park. There are a lot of tourists interested in learning more about Chicago. Then there’s just a mix of everybody else.”

For Eric, supporting and advocating other black-owned businesses is intrinsic to his DNA as a retailer.

“It’s important to support black-owned businesses because historically we haven’t always had opportunity. This store is a place for me to say yes. If someone says, ‘Hey, I want to try something out.’ I’m like, ‘You know what? Let’s just try it out,’” Eric stressed. “How is it to be an African American black business owner? My answer is I don’t know anything different. I think whoever you are, wherever you come from, you should be authentic to who you are.”

“What I want people to know about retail is important. I don’t think it’ll ever go away,” Eric explained. “I think [people] overestimate the impact of online. It’s only roughly 20 plus percent of the actual sales. Most sales still are made in brick and mortar. And most sales still are made in small brick and mortar.”

The voice of Illinois small business

As a successful small business owner, Eric Williams carries a unique perspective on the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship as well as the critical role that public policy plays in shaping the business landscape.

“Policy has a huge impact on small businesses,” explained Eric. “I think you have to have the businesses involved in the policy-making to have an effective policy. If you just make a policy that is not incorporating businesses, it’s not going to work. I think having the voice and having folks who run small businesses, retailers in the room, is the only way to really do it. Because if not, you’re gonna not have businesses (succeed and) that’s gonna be a serious issue.”

Eric also believes that the experience of owning a small business is a very personal endeavor and that those who make policy need to understand that the success of a small business extends far beyond a balance sheet.

“I think with policy-makers, many times they have good hearts and good ideas and good intentions,” Eric stated. “But how it plays out in real life is different. So, unless you’ve been through it, you don’t understand. Unless you’ve had to hire somebody, unless you’ve had to fire somebody, unless you’ve had to have stuff stolen from your store and your window’s broken, all the things that come with this, you don’t really understand. I think there should be some empathy for people who risk their livelihoods (in retail).”

“I think we need to understand that it’s not something that’s automatic when you open a store, you’re gonna just make all this money. It’s not an easy thing to do. So, I think just a little bit of empathy and understanding for the business owner, especially the small business owner, which are most businesses, is very important.”

Why I love retail

With smooth musical beats pulsing through the roomy space of The Silver Room and the distinct smell of incense, customers are immediately hit with a multi-sensory welcome. For Eric Williams, retail is far more than dollars and cents.

“I’m passionate about retail,” Eric said. “It’s something that’s important to me. It’s not just the item that you buy; it’s the memory that’s created by the item. It’s important to our communities. It’s important to our country. I’m glad that we have been here 27 years, still going strong and I’m looking forward to another 27 more.”

“I think with retail, you have to make it feel like a home,” said Eric with a warm smile. “It has to be reflective of who you are. Every retail store should be different. If you’re downstate, it’s going to be very different than being downtown. I think the authenticity of a retail space is key, you can feel it. That’s what I try to provide to people.”