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The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

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Underground Printing will reopen soon

When Underground Printing moved into Dinkytown in September, the dream was to offer students a way to help make their custom shirts perfect. But the new store, located on 14th Avenue SE, is currently closed to find a new manager and plans on reopening in the next two weeks. Founded in 2001, Underground Printing is a custom screen printing and embroidered apparel company with locations at 11 colleges. Owner Rishi Narayan said it has wanted to open a store at the University of Minnesota for a long time. âÄúWe were really set on Dinkytown,âÄù he said. âÄúWe knew thatâÄôs where we wanted to go, and weâÄôve known for quite some time now, but we were just waiting for that opportunity.âÄù But Narayan said the store didnâÄôt do as well as he had hoped in the beginning, and the company parted ways with the former store manager. One major selling point was supposed to be Homecoming shirts, but Narayan said they did not sell as well as he had hoped. âÄúWe didnâÄôt do as good of a job as we should have getting the word out,âÄù he said. Some other Underground Printing locations have collegiate licensing, and the Dinkytown store is in the process of receiving a similar license, he said. Because the company has grown, they have to receive a restricted license to sell clothes bearing the UniversityâÄôs name, but Narayan said he is hopeful to receive the license soon. As the search for a new store manager continues, people can still order shirts through the Underground website, but Narayan said he hopes to reopen with new management within the next two weeks. âÄúI really want a Minnesota grad,âÄù he said. âÄúI want someone who is really connected to the community.âÄù One local company, 612 Clothing, is not concerned about the reopening, sales and marketing manager Marcus Gahn said. Gahn, an international business and accounting senior, said the store has built street credibility through its clothing line and custom shirt designs. âÄúI think itâÄôs a good opportunity for competition and it brings out the best in everybody,âÄù he said. Gahn said the company produced some shirts for Homecoming, including ones for Alpha Phi , Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Alpha Delta Phi . Public relations senior Lisa Kalis , a member of Alpha Phi, said despite a miscommunication she was pleased with how Gahn treated her. Another Underground Printing store opened in September at Northwestern University , and the shop is beginning to see more business, manager Colin Cassidy said. âÄúIt always takes a little bit to start up a new store because a lot of itâÄôs based off referrals and repeat customers, but itâÄôs definitely starting to pick up,âÄù Cassidy said. As the Dinkytown store schedules itâÄôs reopening, Narayan said he hopes to be back in business at the University. âÄúWeâÄôve encountered every setback in the book, but weâÄôre really excited to be there,âÄù he said. âÄúWeâÄôre almost going to treat it as a second coming, weâÄôre going to start fresh, almost pretend like weâÄôre starting at day one and make the push on campus like that.âÄù

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