The next time a student wants to get a tattoo near campus, they will have the option of venturing outside of Stadium Village.

Inkaholics, a tattoo parlor in Dinkytown, is set to open March 28 in Hideaway’s former location. The new shop will join Steady Tattoo as the only tattoo parlors near campus.

Mark Sandness, co-owner of the new shop, said he and his partner, Eric Loehr, are familiar with the area and waited until the space opened up.

“Location is everything in business,” he said.

Sandness and Loehr currently own a few rental properties in the area, but this is the first time they have owned a business.

“We’ve always been interested in tattoos,” Sandness said.

Loehr said the two have been working on the renovation for the past few months in order to open it “the right way” without rushing the process.

He said the four licensed tattoo artists Inkaholics will have, two of whom will also do piercings, came to them “hungry” for a new place to work. Also, the shop will have a receptionist who is also a licensed piercer.

Both Sandness and Loehr said the other neighborhood businesses have been welcoming to the new shop.

“They are happy we aren’t another restaurant,” Sandness said.

“That’s the first thing people have asked us, if we’re a restaurant,” Loehr said.

Rob DeHoff, manager of Varsity Bike Shop in Dinkytown, said he doesn’t have a problem with a tattoo parlor opening across the street.

“A lot of bikers have tattoos, so I don’t have any more of a problem with this business than others,” he said.

Sandness said it’s a good thing to have another tattoo parlor near campus to compete with Steady.

Steady Tattoo, located in Stadium Village, released this statement on the new business:

“Steady Tattoo and Axis piercing welcome Inkaholics to the area and wish them the best.”

Any new tattoo shop needs both credibility and a license to succeed, Derek Lowe, general manager of Saint Sabrina’s Parlor in Purgatory, a tattoo shop in Uptown, said.

“A lot of it has to do with learning how to tattoo appropriately by having an apprenticeship and having a good background,” he said. “Beyond that it’s just turning out good quality work and following all health and safety precautions and regulations.”

Although Minnesota doesn’t regulate tattoo parlors by law, Minneapolis is one of the few cities in the state that does.

Lowe said the city sends out an inspector once a year to make sure the business is up to code.

He said it’s the only time he hears from the city unless someone files a complaint against the business.

With the regulations and zoning laws Minneapolis has, Lowe said he was surprised there would be another tattoo parlor opening on campus.

In the 13 years Lowe said he has been a tattoo artist, the popularity of it has steadily increased and a wider variety of people are getting them.

“I think the stigma has greatly reduced compared to what it used to be,” he said.