A couple has decided to close their Chicago storefront after the shop’s first location was burglarized twice in 10 days and the latest location was also burglarized, causing tens of thousands of dollars in stolen merchandise and damage.
“Three strikes, you’re out, I guess,” said Kevin Woods. “I’m trying to be optimistic, but it’s clearly not working having a brick and mortar.”
Woods and his wife own The Pop-Up, a creative shop filled with curated, high-value merchandise, and they often travel the world to find products.
The storefront first opened in Chicago’s Fulton Market neighborhood, where in February 2024, it was burglarized twice in 10 days. Woods first spoke to NBC Chicago about the break-ins back then.
Eventually Woods moved the shop to a new space in Bucktown where business continued to thrive.
However in August, burglars struck again. Just after 4:30 a.m., surveillance video shows a group of people break the store’s double-pane glass doors with a sledgehammer and break through another barrier inside. They grabbed racks full of products for several minutes.
“Several hundred products, damage, furniture, collectables, so it’s pretty tough,” Woods told NBC Chicago. “We [had] put in five security shutters, two metal grates, spent over $15,000 in security.”
The cost of the loss is hard to calculate, but Woods estimates into the tens of thousands of dollars or more.
According to Chicago police data, there have been more than 4,000 burglaries so far in 2025.
For “The Pop Up,” this marks the end of an era. The store will permanently close by October.
Woods said the hardest part of the decision is for his young employees who found inspiration working there and rely on the job.
“A lot of my greatest friends I met through the shop; my fondest memories have been a part of this,” said employee Raphael Runez.
Runez started working at the shop when he was 17 years old.
“Kevin’s given so many people great opportunities to do our thing here,” he said. “It’s a magical place, you know.”
As “The Pop Up” closes this chapter, Woods has a message for other small businesses trying to make it in Chicago: “There’s power in numbers. Keep communicating with each other,” he said.
They will host a closing sale this weekend before shutting down Oct 1.