SayWerd: The Vintage and Sneaker Resale Storefront on Oakland Ave.

SayWerd as seen from the sidewalk, (Photo: Olivia Weiss).

Whether it’s the variety of rare sneakers decorating the wall, or the vintage Bucks merchandise hanging from the racks, there is bound to be something that catches your eye at SayWerd.

If it’s not the variety of stuff inside that pulls you in, owner Benny Tralongo will do his best to make you feel welcome. His energy is enough to keep you coming back. In fact, he takes pride in it.

During the pandemic, the vintage resale market spiked tremendously due to the increase in online shopping. Websites like Depop and eBay saw huge spikes in app usage, and the lack of being able to shop in person allowed people to expand their interests online. Even though a lot of people in his community were succeeding online, Trivalgo’s store thrived through COVID-19. His priority has always been set on customer experience.

“I had private appointments during the pandemic to keep it safe,” said Trivalgo. “I’d have like one person come in, sanitize the whole store, and have another person come in. June 16th, 2020 is when we were able to open up to the public. I did it all solo.”

Now located at 3475 N. Oakland Ave., the storefront sits right across the street from its old location that owner Tralongo, 30, opened up just a few years ago. He moved across the street to the bigger space to share his love for streetwear this year. The grand opening was on April 2, and he has been busy ever since.

“I signed the lease there a week before the country shut down for the pandemic,” said Tralongo. “It just got to the point where there was just way too much stuff that I wanted to do and way too much product I had in general. This spot had been open the whole time I was over there and it was sitting empty. As soon as my lease ended I knew I needed the spot.”

With the bigger spot, which has about 800 more square feet than the old one, Travalgo has more room for all the goods he has to offer. His store has anything from gently used sneakers to 80s and 90s video game memorabilia. It also gives him more room to connect with customers and build a unique connection with the community, which is a huge advantage to having a storefront in a mainly-online industry.

Saywerd’s sneaker wall, (Photo: Olivia Weiss)

“Having the storefront adds that next level of legitimacy,” Trivalgo shared. “Anybody can do a pop-up, anybody can have a website, but not everyone has the ability to have a store. To go through getting permits is so tedious and frustrating, especially in Milwaukee County. It takes a lot and you have to be ready and willing to do more for your community because you become like a beacon for the subculture that you’re a part of.”

SayWerd started out with Trivalgo doing original designs for local companies like Belair and Fuel Cafe. Eventually, he wanted to do his own thing and merge all of his interests together. He had always been thrifting and collecting but felt like no one had yet combined everything under one roof. He merged his love for talking to people, sneakers, vintage, and memorabilia all in one to make the store what it is.

“I always use the term of crossing cultures because we have video games, 90s toys,” said Trivalgo. “We have a lot of dudes in here looking at the video games, talking to the sneakerheads, and talking to people who are super into sports. There is such a unique blend of cultures in the store. You can’t get that from online.”

SayWerd owner Benny Trivalgo (Photo: Olivia Weiss).

Due to the nature of his items, people of all ages are able to have a good time if they stop by. Trivalgo has two kids and loves being able to share the space with them when he can. Even older clientele are consistently coming back to SayWerd.

Milwaukee local Elaine Lathen, 58, comes in to keep her youthfulness alive.

“Benny’s keeping my old self energized,” said Lathen. “I can come in here and have fun. I can take retro and add it to my new style and it lets me be unique. That’s what I appreciate about Benny doing this. A lot of stores just don’t have this flair. I’m always coming in here to check out stuff. He’s keeping Riverwest the way it’s supposed to be.”

Trivalgo takes pride in the nostalgia of it all the connections he can build between a person and the piece they buy. He puts an emphasis on what a certain item can mean to a certain person. He talks about how everybody values things differently.

“We’re more so selling nostalgia than we are a piece of clothing,” Trivalgo said. “You can’t put a value on memories. I’ve seen people find a shirt, and tell me that their grandpa had it and whether it’s $20 or $200 they’re going to buy it because of what it means to them.”

While he still is active on the SayWerd Instagram to keep his customers up-to-date, Trivalgo relies heavily on the store for the best experience. He even has some of his friends who do the majority of their sales online come in and sell some of their stuff at the shop. He enjoys supporting other Milwaukee natives that are in the industry.

“If you don’t have heavy foot traffic, there’s not really a point of opening a storefront,” said Trivalgo. “You might as well just sell online. If you’re not getting organic customers just stay online and target the people you’re already doing well with. By having a storefront, I get so many neighborhood walkers and people who just drive by and see the sneaker wall through the window. You can’t buy that and people pay for that kind of exposure.”

This summer, SayWerd has several events coming up that can be found on their Instagram, @saywerd.co. He is always updating his feed with his newest and freshest pieces.

Vintage Bucks Merch (Photo: Olivia Weiss)