<p>Mark Thomas estimates that he’s traveled 4 million miles around the world on a never-ending quest of “looking for weird s---. If you’ve ever been to his store, The Alley, you know he’s been successful in the mission.</p><p>From the racks of chains and spikes that could double as jewelry and weapons to the smell of fresh leather jackets and boots that fill the air to an overstock of Count Dracula dolls (complete with “death certificates”) that line metal shelves, Thomas has filled the counterculture emporium with the oddest and finest knick-knacks, art and apparel since 1976.</p><p>In the process, he’s also become Chicago’s go-to outfitter for punks, metalheads, goths, bikers and anyone who lives and dies by the store’s motto, which greets visitors on the signage above its skeleton-flanked doors at the Avondale store: “A safe place for freaks, misfits and weirdos.”</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center> <div class="Enhancement-item" data-crop=""> <figure class="Figure"><a class="AnchorLink" id="image-cf0000" name="image-cf0000"></a> <picture data-crop="medium"> <source type="image/webp" width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a38d950/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+158/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fbc%2F05%2F344434d74d34ae53ab2397433caf%2Fthealley-260516-38.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/da77d8c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+158/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fbc%2F05%2F344434d74d34ae53ab2397433caf%2Fthealley-260516-38.jpg 2x" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <source width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/99b428a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+158/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fbc%2F05%2F344434d74d34ae53ab2397433caf%2Fthealley-260516-38.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <img class="Image" alt="The exterior of The Alley located at 2620 W. Fletcher St.