August 12, 2024 • 12 mins
We spoke with Pastor AJ Johnson, Owner at THE HAT HOUSE, the flagship store of Brothers Johnson 1929 Hat Co. located in the heart of Hartford, Connecticut.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Alison Demers with iHeart Connecticut, Community Access and
Building Black Biz Connecticut. Today I'm speaking with Pastor A. J. Johnson,
owner at the Hat House by Brothers Johnson nineteen twenty
nine Hat Company, and to hear more interviews with black
business owners and decision makers in Connecticut, visit Building blackbizct
(00:21):
dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Welcome, thank you, thank you so much for having me,
and I'm excited to be on to talk about this wonderful,
wonderful business we have. I want to just say that
we are a headstore that is looking to bring back distinction,
to bring back class, and to bring back excellence. I
(00:43):
know that our you know, we've gotten casual post pandemic,
but I think the days of actually dressing up and
attending functions and attending churches or attending you know, elegant
functions are coming back. So you're gonna need a hat.
(01:03):
Of there's a lot of men out there that's going
ball and you know you need a hat. Look, look,
I'm doing my best self. Pitch fall is coming and
it's gonna get a little brisk outside in New England.
You're gonna need a hat. So if you're thinking about
getting a hat, come down to the Hat House by
(01:24):
Brother Johnson nineteen twenty nine Hat Company at two thirteen
Garden Street in Hertford, Connecticut.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Tell me when did it begin, well.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Brother Johnson, nineteen twenty nine. Hat Company was established in
twenty eighteen in the loving memory of my father, doctor
William Miileish Johnson. And he was a man who wore
many hats in fashion and faith and in fatherhood and
out of his stylish flare was birthed in Harlem, New
(01:53):
York City, where my father went from lightweight boxing champion
to notable preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And
so when he passed up cancer in twenty fourteen, my
family wanted to commemorate his life by the mini hats
that he wore by opening a hat store of silent hats.
(02:15):
And so we opened our storefront last October. But we
were vending and traveling to various conventions jazz fests across
the country, getting the brand and letting folks get a
hold of our wonderful hats.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
So tell me about the store. What can I expect
when I walk in?
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Oh? Man, the store is so exciting. I mean, we
did not spare a dime at store because we wanted
to create an atmosphere of like a retro atmosphere where
you walk in, you're taken back into a certain time period,
but you're also in twenty twenty four right living in
(02:59):
this in a decade. So it's a place where the
hats you'll see styles from pork pies to break brim
Fedora's too, you know, killbox hats for ladies and fascinators.
And so when you walk in, you walk into a
space that feels like you know, the you know, almost
(03:23):
like the late eighteen hundreds, but a temporary flare of
some amazing hats that you see. You know, we do
it for you know, ages thirty to sixty five with
an eclectic in urban style, and we also do hat repair.
We also understand that there are people who may have
(03:45):
them passed down hats, cowboy hats, or some awesome hats
from their parents or their grandfather or a great great grandfather,
some old stepsons you know, that may need some may
need some love. So we also restore hats. So it
is a store that when you walk in, you walk
into a classic but urban style store and you have.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Any of you had a background in selling hats or
making hats. Where did that come from?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Well, listen, we have a history of wearing them, for sure.
But our my you know, my wife is as an
artist and a creator, and when I came up with
the hat store idea or you know, getting in the
hat business, she said, hey, I can do anything with
(04:37):
my hands, and you know, we let her loose man
and she designed, she creates, she restores. So that's the
part of our business that we're most proud of, and
our brand is that every hat that is made and
has come from the hands of from her brain to
her hands onto your head.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Look at that.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
It's a really really awesome, awesome thing that we have.
But certainly we grew up in church, and growing up
in church on Sundays, you know, the guys would put
on the suits with the ties of the bow ties
and the clean shoes and the very nice hats and
the and in my church context, the ladies will come
with the big hat, you know, be dazzled hats or fascinators,
(05:26):
and the would dress their best on Sundays. So it's
just a part of we're sharing our culture with the world.
And what I'm most proud about of our Hats store
and our hat brand is that we wanted to keep
it in Hertford. I passed to a church in Hartford,
Urban Hope Refuge Church. I work in Hartford as a
director of neighborhood organizing for the Center for Leadership and Justice.
(05:46):
I served on a Hartford school board for about four years.
And Hertford is our home, and so we we didn't
want to take our brand anywhere else but to a
place where at nomics, you know, what was needed. So
we're happy to have our store in a city where
(06:06):
we play, we pray, and we work. Uh in in
our city.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Well, I love that. I was raised in the church too,
and uh we had a hat and we had a fan.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
I've never known with a good work in air conditions.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
It's so funny. But who else wears hats? You did
mention cowboy hats? So who else would come to the
store besides church people?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Yeah, I mean, well, listen everybody. I've been very surprised
of the folks who have come to our store. I
mean we've We've had a lot of men from various
towns across Connecticut stop down with some uh you know,
with restoration at ladies come from uh the insurance companies
(06:58):
looking to buy a hat for or their their woman's
tea or their sororities tea or you know, or meet up.
I mean people come for various reasons. I mean the
reason that I you know that I always have compassion
for I've had a lot of folks come buying a
hat for for a funeral, you know. So we we
(07:22):
get all kinds of people who come in who enjoy hats.
Half of the culture in uh In this city, in
uh In, in this region. I mean, we are the
only hat store between uh New York and Boston. There's
one other hat store in New Haven, but outside of
that hat store up in this region, we're the only
(07:43):
black owned hat store between Boston and New York City.
And we're we're proud of that because most of our
customers are not just people of color. They're there. They
come from every walks of life. But you know, we
we our customer profile is a little bit of everybody.
You know. We have your thirty to fifty five year olds,
(08:05):
you have your sixty five to seventy. You know, in
any particular day, anybody could walk through the door. And
I think that's what makes it awesome, and we're getting
people from out of Massachusetts to come down too. So
New England is starting to hear about this hat store
in Connecticut and making special trips down to visit it
(08:26):
and purchase from us.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
I recently went to the Polo Grounds. It's in Farmington,
the Fairgrounds, and I didn't have a hat. I had
no idea that's what they do. And then there was
the derby several months ago, and so you're right, it
is all walks of life. I forget how many people
wear hats. I'm Italian. They have the fedora. I mean,
there's so many. What a great idea. How important is
(08:50):
it for people to support locally owned and family businesses.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Well, it's important. And we come from a very unique
situation being that my wife is from Trinidad and Tobago.
I'm from Hartford, Connecticut, and you know, we're both people
of color, and I think supporting black business not just
(09:17):
small business. I think you can lump them all together,
but particularly when we think of the wealth gap in
Connecticut and how that wealth gap is just you know,
if you were to go to Stanford or go to
Fairfield County, where the median income is two hundred and
like eighty thousand dollars. But then when you come to
(09:38):
heartfred median income is around thirteen fourteen thousand dollars. It's critical.
So supporting business and areas where the median incomes are
floating at the bottom of the barrel is important. You know,
we want to vibrate Capital city and so supporting businesses
(10:01):
in areas like this is very important. But not just
in areas like this. I think all small businesses are
their lifeline to two communities. I mean, I pay taxes
on all different levels. Being a business owner is very
interesting because I pay a lot of taxes, right, and
when I think of the taxes that I pay as
(10:22):
a small business owner, those are the taxes that's going
to go towards the mail rate for you know, for
the town or the city, which is then going to
help the education system, right, the local education system. Small
businesses more than likely sponsor the Little League Baseball teams
(10:43):
in towns right where kids get an opportunity to to
play a team sport and have the equipment that they need.
Small businesses donate to a lot of different local activities,
not saying that big business doesn't, but more than likely
the people who own these businesses are your neighbors. And
(11:03):
so I am a neighbor of folks in kids right
in children in my local community, and so I do
my best to sponsor activities that better the community. And
so it's very important for people to go out and
support small businesses, and most importantly black businesses, because again,
when we think of the wealth gap, people of color
(11:25):
have always been marginalized by income and that's why we
have the segregation that we have. So it's important to
support not only local business but black owned businesses as well.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
What days and what hours are you opened?
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Yeah, that's a great question. We're open Tuesday through Saturday,
eleven to six Tuesday through Thursday, and eleven to seven
Friday and Saturday.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
And on the website, can people see the different hats
or the services that you offer.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Yes, only that you can purchase hats online. Our website
is www dot Brothers Johnson nineteen twenty nine dot com.
And on that website you've be able to see our
store hours and you've be able to see our inventory.
And if you don't want to take the drive down,
you can order a hat online and we can ship
(12:19):
it right to your house. In no time. So it
is not only do we have the storefront, but we
are have online selves as well.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Wow, you're wonderful. Thank you so much, Pastor AJ Johnson.
Definitely check out the Hatthouse by Brothers Johnson, the nineteen
twenty nine hat company, their website Brothers Johnson nineteen twenty
nine dot com. Thank you again, Pastor. Thank you for
all the work that you do and for serving our community.
We appreciate you now.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Thank you for the opportunity to share this and I
look forward to seeing everyone at the head House
This is Alison Demers with iHeart Connecticut, Community Access and
Building Black Biz Connecticut. Today I'm speaking with Pastor A. J. Johnson,
owner at the Hat House by Brothers Johnson nineteen twenty
nine Hat Company, and to hear more interviews with black
business owners and decision makers in Connecticut, visit Building blackbizct
(00:21):
dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Welcome, thank you, thank you so much for having me,
and I'm excited to be on to talk about this wonderful,
wonderful business we have. I want to just say that
we are a headstore that is looking to bring back distinction,
to bring back class, and to bring back excellence. I
(00:43):
know that our you know, we've gotten casual post pandemic,
but I think the days of actually dressing up and
attending functions and attending churches or attending you know, elegant
functions are coming back. So you're gonna need a hat.
(01:03):
Of there's a lot of men out there that's going
ball and you know you need a hat. Look, look,
I'm doing my best self. Pitch fall is coming and
it's gonna get a little brisk outside in New England.
You're gonna need a hat. So if you're thinking about
getting a hat, come down to the Hat House by
(01:24):
Brother Johnson nineteen twenty nine Hat Company at two thirteen
Garden Street in Hertford, Connecticut.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Tell me when did it begin, well.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Brother Johnson, nineteen twenty nine. Hat Company was established in
twenty eighteen in the loving memory of my father, doctor
William Miileish Johnson. And he was a man who wore
many hats in fashion and faith and in fatherhood and
out of his stylish flare was birthed in Harlem, New
(01:53):
York City, where my father went from lightweight boxing champion
to notable preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And
so when he passed up cancer in twenty fourteen, my
family wanted to commemorate his life by the mini hats
that he wore by opening a hat store of silent hats.
(02:15):
And so we opened our storefront last October. But we
were vending and traveling to various conventions jazz fests across
the country, getting the brand and letting folks get a
hold of our wonderful hats.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
So tell me about the store. What can I expect
when I walk in?
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Oh? Man, the store is so exciting. I mean, we
did not spare a dime at store because we wanted
to create an atmosphere of like a retro atmosphere where
you walk in, you're taken back into a certain time period,
but you're also in twenty twenty four right living in
(02:59):
this in a decade. So it's a place where the
hats you'll see styles from pork pies to break brim
Fedora's too, you know, killbox hats for ladies and fascinators.
And so when you walk in, you walk into a
space that feels like you know, the you know, almost
(03:23):
like the late eighteen hundreds, but a temporary flare of
some amazing hats that you see. You know, we do
it for you know, ages thirty to sixty five with
an eclectic in urban style, and we also do hat repair.
We also understand that there are people who may have
(03:45):
them passed down hats, cowboy hats, or some awesome hats
from their parents or their grandfather or a great great grandfather,
some old stepsons you know, that may need some may
need some love. So we also restore hats. So it
is a store that when you walk in, you walk
into a classic but urban style store and you have.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Any of you had a background in selling hats or
making hats. Where did that come from?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Well, listen, we have a history of wearing them, for sure.
But our my you know, my wife is as an
artist and a creator, and when I came up with
the hat store idea or you know, getting in the
hat business, she said, hey, I can do anything with
(04:37):
my hands, and you know, we let her loose man
and she designed, she creates, she restores. So that's the
part of our business that we're most proud of, and
our brand is that every hat that is made and
has come from the hands of from her brain to
her hands onto your head.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Look at that.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
It's a really really awesome, awesome thing that we have.
But certainly we grew up in church, and growing up
in church on Sundays, you know, the guys would put
on the suits with the ties of the bow ties
and the clean shoes and the very nice hats and
the and in my church context, the ladies will come
with the big hat, you know, be dazzled hats or fascinators,
(05:26):
and the would dress their best on Sundays. So it's
just a part of we're sharing our culture with the world.
And what I'm most proud about of our Hats store
and our hat brand is that we wanted to keep
it in Hertford. I passed to a church in Hartford,
Urban Hope Refuge Church. I work in Hartford as a
director of neighborhood organizing for the Center for Leadership and Justice.
(05:46):
I served on a Hartford school board for about four years.
And Hertford is our home, and so we we didn't
want to take our brand anywhere else but to a
place where at nomics, you know, what was needed. So
we're happy to have our store in a city where
(06:06):
we play, we pray, and we work. Uh in in
our city.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Well, I love that. I was raised in the church too,
and uh we had a hat and we had a fan.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
I've never known with a good work in air conditions.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
It's so funny. But who else wears hats? You did
mention cowboy hats? So who else would come to the
store besides church people?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Yeah, I mean, well, listen everybody. I've been very surprised
of the folks who have come to our store. I
mean we've We've had a lot of men from various
towns across Connecticut stop down with some uh you know,
with restoration at ladies come from uh the insurance companies
(06:58):
looking to buy a hat for or their their woman's
tea or their sororities tea or you know, or meet up.
I mean people come for various reasons. I mean the
reason that I you know that I always have compassion
for I've had a lot of folks come buying a
hat for for a funeral, you know. So we we
(07:22):
get all kinds of people who come in who enjoy hats.
Half of the culture in uh In this city, in
uh In, in this region. I mean, we are the
only hat store between uh New York and Boston. There's
one other hat store in New Haven, but outside of
that hat store up in this region, we're the only
(07:43):
black owned hat store between Boston and New York City.
And we're we're proud of that because most of our
customers are not just people of color. They're there. They
come from every walks of life. But you know, we
we our customer profile is a little bit of everybody.
You know. We have your thirty to fifty five year olds,
(08:05):
you have your sixty five to seventy. You know, in
any particular day, anybody could walk through the door. And
I think that's what makes it awesome, and we're getting
people from out of Massachusetts to come down too. So
New England is starting to hear about this hat store
in Connecticut and making special trips down to visit it
(08:26):
and purchase from us.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
I recently went to the Polo Grounds. It's in Farmington,
the Fairgrounds, and I didn't have a hat. I had
no idea that's what they do. And then there was
the derby several months ago, and so you're right, it
is all walks of life. I forget how many people
wear hats. I'm Italian. They have the fedora. I mean,
there's so many. What a great idea. How important is
(08:50):
it for people to support locally owned and family businesses.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Well, it's important. And we come from a very unique
situation being that my wife is from Trinidad and Tobago.
I'm from Hartford, Connecticut, and you know, we're both people
of color, and I think supporting black business not just
(09:17):
small business. I think you can lump them all together,
but particularly when we think of the wealth gap in
Connecticut and how that wealth gap is just you know,
if you were to go to Stanford or go to
Fairfield County, where the median income is two hundred and
like eighty thousand dollars. But then when you come to
(09:38):
heartfred median income is around thirteen fourteen thousand dollars. It's critical.
So supporting business and areas where the median incomes are
floating at the bottom of the barrel is important. You know,
we want to vibrate Capital city and so supporting businesses
(10:01):
in areas like this is very important. But not just
in areas like this. I think all small businesses are
their lifeline to two communities. I mean, I pay taxes
on all different levels. Being a business owner is very
interesting because I pay a lot of taxes, right, and
when I think of the taxes that I pay as
(10:22):
a small business owner, those are the taxes that's going
to go towards the mail rate for you know, for
the town or the city, which is then going to
help the education system, right, the local education system. Small
businesses more than likely sponsor the Little League Baseball teams
(10:43):
in towns right where kids get an opportunity to to
play a team sport and have the equipment that they need.
Small businesses donate to a lot of different local activities,
not saying that big business doesn't, but more than likely
the people who own these businesses are your neighbors. And
(11:03):
so I am a neighbor of folks in kids right
in children in my local community, and so I do
my best to sponsor activities that better the community. And
so it's very important for people to go out and
support small businesses, and most importantly black businesses, because again,
when we think of the wealth gap, people of color
(11:25):
have always been marginalized by income and that's why we
have the segregation that we have. So it's important to
support not only local business but black owned businesses as well.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
What days and what hours are you opened?
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Yeah, that's a great question. We're open Tuesday through Saturday,
eleven to six Tuesday through Thursday, and eleven to seven
Friday and Saturday.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
And on the website, can people see the different hats
or the services that you offer.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Yes, only that you can purchase hats online. Our website
is www dot Brothers Johnson nineteen twenty nine dot com.
And on that website you've be able to see our
store hours and you've be able to see our inventory.
And if you don't want to take the drive down,
you can order a hat online and we can ship
(12:19):
it right to your house. In no time. So it
is not only do we have the storefront, but we
are have online selves as well.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Wow, you're wonderful. Thank you so much, Pastor AJ Johnson.
Definitely check out the Hatthouse by Brothers Johnson, the nineteen
twenty nine hat company, their website Brothers Johnson nineteen twenty
nine dot com. Thank you again, Pastor. Thank you for
all the work that you do and for serving our community.
We appreciate you now.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Thank you for the opportunity to share this and I
look forward to seeing everyone at the head House
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