North Side magic shop hopes online fundraiser does the trick

No magic trick will solve the dire cash shortage of one of the city’s last magic shops.

Magic Inc. has been around for nearly 100 years and is known internationally as a mecca for accomplished and aspiring prestidigitators.

The owners and staff of Magic, 1838 W. Lawrence Ave., hope an online fundraising drive will save the business.

“We have to re-up with our landlord and, how shall I say delicately, they’re not playing ball,” said Sandy Marshall, who owns the shop. “We kind of hope we can stay there, but time will tell.”

Marshall began an online fundraising drive over the weekend seeking $50,000. As of Thursday morning, donations totaled $9,313.

Marshall, who spent part of his childhood living above the store’s previous location at 5082 N. Lincoln Ave., said the magic shop is beloved for a number of reasons.

“If you buy a trick online and can’t figure out the directions, you’re screwed. Magicians who work at our shop will show anyone who walks in how to perform a magic trick they’re struggling with, even if they didn’t come to us to buy it in the first place,” he said.

The shop has always relied on in-store sales, which are down about 75% during the pandemic.

The shop’s five employees are mostly volunteering their time at the moment, trying to grow the shop’s online business to increase its odds of survival.

Shreeyash Palshikar was a University of Chicago grad student about two decades ago when he began taking public transit from Hyde Park to Magic Inc.

“It was a huge turning point for me,” said Palshikar, 47, who’s now a part-time magician in addition to being a college professor in Pennsylvania.

“It was a lot more than just tricks. You can buy those online from some warehouse, but you can’t get the attention, the service, the mentorship — that’s not available online. And they’d hold lectures done by the best magicians in the world,” he said.

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The shop has also fanned the flame of curiosity in younger generations of magicians who start off wowing siblings, parents, friends and then, gulp, larger groups.

“We have a lot of families that come in and we host a summer camp that focuses on performances, public speaking skills and how to manage an audience,” said shop manager Pedro Nieves, noting the camp went virtual this year.

Julie Medina, 18, a senior at Lane Tech High School, started going to the shop around age 11.

“It’s been a big part of my life. I’d spend hours trying to perfect tricks,” she said.

Her most impressive trick: The Double Cross — where an X drawn on the magician’s hand vanishes and magically appears on the hand of a spectator.

The trick slays at holiday parties. “Lots of wows,” she said.

Luis Carreon, 32, started hanging around the shop 10 years ago. He’d regularly take a train from his home near Midway Airport and arrive with a box of doughnuts.

“I hung around until they finally hired me,” said Carreon, who also works as a professional magician.

Celebrity magicians such as David Copperfield, Penn & Teller and David Blaine have frequented the shop, which has a magical bloodline that’s hard to find outside the pages of a Harry Potter book.

Marshall’s father, Jay Marshall, who died in 2005, was an expert magician who performed around the world and appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” a total of 14 times.

He was elected dean of the Society of American Magicians in 1992 and kept the title until, as ritual dictates, his wand was broken at his gravesite.

Jay Marshall’s involvement in the North Side magic shop began when he married Frances Ireland, who ran the shop with her previous husband, Laurie Ireland, until he died in 1954.

The shop, created in 1926, was known as the Ireland Magic Co. until the name was changed in 1963 to Magic Inc.

Sandy Marshall, a Broadway producer who shuttles between New York City and Chicago, said he keeps the store open to honor his father’s legacy and hasn’t taken a penny from the business since he took over after his father’s death.

“If I hadn’t had three Broadway shows crash because of the pandemic, we’d be able to help, but we lost a bloody fortune,” he said.