Moving in Chicago. It can mean an exciting new beginning—starting fresh in a different apartment in an unexplored neighborhood. It can also mean a brand new start in your first home. Or it can be a day filled with broken dishes, stress, and sweat. When friendships are as strained as the boxes you've crammed full of your stuff. What makes the difference between the two scenarios? Being prepared and working with a mover you can trust, like J. Bradtke Movers. Before you use up all remaining favors from your friends, call Joe Bradtke, the local entrepreneur and neighbor who's been moving people for the past 30 years.
Once you see the J. Bradtke Movers logo, you won't forget it. The company's trucks all have an image of an elephant carrying a grandfather clock in his trunk. The idea came out of a conversation that Joe had with his brother, John, the founder of the moving company. "We were sitting around the kitchen table brainstorming one day," recalls Joe Bradtke. "We started talking about the circus and how the elephant would so gently lift up the girl. Instead of a girl, we decided to use an item that people could recognize as something fragile." The logo also speaks to the company's beginning as antique movers 35 years ago. "My brother John started the company with just one truck and one little van for deliveries," explains Joe. "He worked for a steel company during the week and did moves on the weekends only." He built his reputation delivering antiques for local dealers. "When he dropped a piece off, he left his card and told the customer to call us if they ever planned to move their whole house," says Joe. "After getting to know us, people trusted their whole house to us."
When Joe was in high school, he helped his brother out on weekends. He started working full time for the business after he graduated in 1978. Five years later when John moved to California, Joe bought the business with his nephew (also named Joe). There never was a need to rename the business, since all owners shared the first initial "J." Originally, Joe managed the business from his house at California and Lawrence, while he parked his trucks at a rented lot on Broadway. Ten years ago, he bought his current building on Kedzie Avenue. "It was originally Progressive Lithograph, a printer," says Joe. "I bought the building next door first, then this one, then the lot next door where we store the trucks."
Although the company made its name by moving antiques, J. Bradtke will move just about anything. And it has completed some fairly unusual moves through the years. One client lived in a highrise apartment on Cedar. "They had a large, one-piece doll house that wouldn't fit down the narrow halls," explains Joe. "So we had to put a crane on top of the roof, dangle the doll house down, and move it in through an eleventh floor window." And recently, J. Bradtke moved a piece of the Berlin Wall to the Western Brown Line station where it's permanently on display. "We loaded it on a flatbed truck with a forklift and moved it in through windows that were open when they were renovating the station," says Joe.
One thing that's true of all moves done with J. Bradtke Movers, is that they do it well. New City recognized the company in one of its Best of Chicago issues. "Word of mouth is huge for us and the only way to do well in this business," explains Joe. "95% of the work we do is based on referrals." If you ask Joe, there are two reasons why the company has such a good reputation. "The secret to our success is hard work and keeping good guys," he says. "Some movers will go to ready men whenever they have a job. I like to work with guys who I know." Frank, one of his foremen, has worked for J. Bradtke Movers for 17 years. Tommy has worked there for more than 20 years. "We met Tommy when he worked at an antique gallery that we used to do moves for," says Joe. "A lot of people remember him from those days and they request him for moves, particularly some of the older people with antiques and clocks."
That cold mug of beer that you enjoy at your new local bar after moving just might have been imported by Joe Bradtke, especially if your new neighborhood is Lincoln Square. Two years ago, Joe bought Schumacher Imports, a beer importer and distributor, from its founder Ernie Schumacher. "The opportunity came about from hanging around Lincoln Square," explains Joe. "I met Ernie at the Heuttenbar. He'd been running the business for around 30 years and had built up a good clientele. He and his business partner, Guenther, were doing all of the deliveries themselves. They're both in their sixties and were getting tired, but they hated to give the business up." Irma from Heuttenbar told Joe that Ernie wanted to sell the business and encouraged him to make an offer. He did and now the building beside J. Bradtke's headquarters is the home of Schumacher Imports.
 Locally, he sells beer, wine, and liqueurs imported from Europe to the Chicago Brauhaus and Heuttenbar, as well as the German clubs like the DANK-HAUS and the Niedersachsen Club. Although he has a number of clients on Chicago's north side, he also sells to businesses in the suburbs and throughout Illinois. "I have exclusive deals with a number of brands, so I can sell them just about anywhere," says Joe. Some of the beers he sells include BBK, the dark Kutcher Alt, Julius Echter hefe-weiss, and Wertzberger. He also carries number of liqueurs and apertifs, including apfel and kirschwasser, as well as German wines. "I've met so many people in the beer business by going into restaurants, bars, and German clubs," says Joe. "I love it."
When he's not moving a client or importing German brews, you can bet that Joe is doing something with cars. A member of the Chicago Wise Guys racing team, Joe races a pro-modified car that looks like something the members of ZZ Top might drive. It's a '57 Chevy body modified with fiberglass and carbon fiber to make it super-light. It has a 540 cubic inch Chevy motor that's 2500 horsepower. Thankfully, it has two parachutes to stop it at the end of a race. "I put in the motor myself," says Joe. "I love tinkering with cars. I've been doing it for as long as I can remember." Besides his race car, Joe has a serious collection of about a dozen antique cars ranging from a '48 pickup truck to a '65 Nova and a Wildcat that most recently chauffeured members of the Lincoln Square Chamber in the 2007 Von Steuben Parade. "I got out of racing for a while, then got back into it again seven years ago," explains Joe. "I just didn't quite get it out of my system yet." He races with the Chicago Wise Guys at all the local tracks, plus an annual event in Florida. Joe's best time is 6.45 seconds at 212 miles per hour on the quarter-mile track.
Joe's love for cars may have inspired him to invest in yet another neighborhood business, LOK Towing. The original owner, Lothar Klebonow, was a regular on Lincoln Avenue. "He used to hang around in the Brauhaus and wait for tows to come in," recalls Joe. Five years ago, he sold the business to Joe, who now runs it. Anyone can call 773.405.3350 for a tow, and he serves local repair shops as well.
If you need to move, do yourself a favor and plan to hire movers. And if you want movers you can trust, call J. Bradtke. "Our biggest truck is 28 feet," says Joe. "You can fill it with just about all you can handle moving in one day." If you have antiques or something to store, J. Bradtke Movers has a 11,500 square foot storage facility on site. "It's heated in the winter and air conditioned in the summer, and suitable for antiques," he explains. Packing services make it easy for those who need to make a quick move and don't have the time to box up their stuff. The same goes for unpacking. Typically, they'll pack your home in one day and move you the next. Special packing services are available for auction houses, which often need a complete estate packed up and moved for an estate sale. "Call us and talk to Alan if you're interested in a quote," Joe says. "We like to get an idea of what your space is like, so we may send someone out to give you a free estimate." Keep in mind that planning ahead is a virtue when it comes to moving. "In the wintertime, you may be able to call us one day and move the next," explains Joe. "But in the summer months, we're sometimes booked for one month in advance. It also helps to choose a day that's not right at the end of the month." Regardless of when you call, you'll know for sure that your possessions are safe in the hands of the gentle giant, J. Bradtke Movers.
J. Bradtke Movers
4515 North Kedzie Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
773.478.1911
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