From the daily bustle and hustle of life, be it traffic jams or piling student debt, everyone needs a little distraction from the chaos at some point. You could even say that some of us need Maximum Distractions. Lo and behold, there’s a place just for that in Portage Park!
On the northeast corner of Montrose and Milwaukee, sits a small but bountiful comic, games, and toy shop. Inside is a wall to wall array of all things fun! There’s playable trading card games, like Magic The Gathering, collectible figurines, pinback buttons, and, of course, comics galore.
Grant Schreiber is the owner of this tiny nerd heaven, and for 2 years he has brought “100% Fun” into the neighborhood. Maximum Distractions proclaims itself as having “The Largest Silver and Bronze Age Collection in Chicago”, and as your eyes giddily bounce around the shop from colorful cover to cover, it’s hard to argue that statement!
Having worked for other retailers under someone else’s orders, Grant decided to become his own boss. He’s been reading comics since the 60s, so he definitely knows the field and gladly recommends comics to customers old and new.
As to the location, Grant’s response was, “There were no comic book stores in this area, and I thought well, let’s try here!” The community seems to have welcomed and enjoyed the distractions Grant provides.
Select demo games are available to play before purchasing, and food is allowed inside (just be respectful and polite and clean up after yourself.) Maximum Distractions also hosts a variety of events, from MTG to DnD and even HeroClix, where newbies and masters can join in on the fun.
Grant Schreiber has a “friendly relationship” with local business neighbor REP CHI, a custom screen-printing shop, and the mutual promotion between the two shops is a prime example of small businesses helping each other out.
They had custom Maximum Distractions shirts made, and, if purchased, you can wear one for a 10% off special discount! (Must be wearing shirt to receive discount.) Interested in using comics for a school projects? Grant is willing to negotiate on some! Have a magazine you want to sell? Maximum Distractions is more than happy to display your nifty self-published photocopied ‘zine works for sale. Stop in and simply ask!
Maximum Distraction is located at 4405 North Milwaukee Avenue. Store hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays from noon to 8 PM, and on Sundays from noon to 6 PM. Follow them on Facbook, Twitter, or visit their website maximumdistraction.wixsite.com/maximumdistractions