Mincer's University of Virginia Imprinted Sportswear is a family-owned, family-operated Charlottesville enterprise, since 1948. We do whatever we can to accommodate our customers. Mincer's success is directly linked to our customers' satisfaction.

Where We Started
On July 19, 1948, Mincer's opened its doors to the University of Virginia and Charlottesville communities. At that time, Mincer's was Mincer's Humidor and sold tobacco, cigars, pipes, cigarettes, and smoking accessories. Mincer's Humidor was originally located in a space that is now under the stairwell to Michael's Bistro on the UVA corner. Mincer's founder, Robert W. Mincer, worked alongside his wife, Clara P. Mincer, and together they generated high quality merchandise for a regular clientele.

In the summer of 1954, Mincer's Humidor moved to its present corner location, which was half the size of today's store. In 1960 Robert W. Mincer's son, Robert H. "Bobby" Mincer, returned home from military service and joined the business full-time. Bobby Mincer grew up in Charlottesville, attended Lane High School, and graduated from the Commerce School at the University of Virginia in 1958. In 1972 Robert W. Mincer retired, and his son Bobby took over the business. In October 1996 Mincer's founder, Robert W. Mincer, passed away at the age of 89.

In the meantime, Bobby's son, Mark Mincer, worked part-time on nights and weekends and during the summer. In 1985, Mark also graduated from the Commerce School at the University of Virginia. Mark's graduation and decision to carry on his family legacy was directly linked to the decision to renovate Mincer's and enlarge it to its current size. With the turn of the 21st century, Bobby Mincer is easing into retirement and his son, Mark, is taking over more responsibilities.

Where We Are Today
Due to the declining popularity of smoking and a reduced demand for smoking accessories, Mincer's Humidor phased out its smoking merchandise and renamed the store, Mincer's University of Virginia Imprinted Sportswear. Mincer's tried selling many different kinds of merchandise, kept good notes, and ultimately learned from its successes. Before the dawning of long-distance telephone plans and before the University of Virginia became a co-ed institution, Mincer's sold large quantities of stationery to accommodate male students' desire to correspond with their families and sweethearts. At one time, Mincer's was the biggest record dealer between Washington, DC and Raleigh, North Carolina. In the beginning, Mincer's offered some men's casual apparel including gray or navy sweatshirts and white undershirts. The demand for these items was relatively minimal as the custom at the University of Virginia was for male students to attend class dressed in coats and ties.

Mincer's credits several University of Virginia-related events with its current success in selling casual University of Virginia apparel:

•	Easters Weekend Parties in the mid to late 70's gave visitors and students alike the desire to commemorate these festive weekends with a T-shirt.
•	Winning the ACC Basketball Tournament Championship in March 1976. Students, alumni, and community members were proud to wear shirts recognizing the Virginia Basketball team's success.
•	Ralph Sampson's enrollment and presence at UVA in the fall of 1979 to the spring of 1983 raised the University of Virginia's profile and visibility; making University of Virginia apparel recognizable nation-wide.
•	The UVA Football Team's Triumph over Clemson in the fall of 1990. This was the first time that UVA beat Clemson and UVA was ranked #1 in the nation for three weeks. UVA football fans wore shirts to celebrate their prized team and antagonize its competitors.
•	The UVA Football Team's exciting victory over 2nd ranked Florida State on November 2, 1995 was another major event for T-shirt sales.

What We Offer
We sell apparel, clothing, gifts, accessories and hats. If you have visited our store, you know that there are many items not featured on our web site. Mincers.com will ship anything that is available in the store. Let us know if there is a particular item you want to purchase, and we will accommodate your needs. You may call or e-mail us with your special requests at (434) 296-5687 or at customerservice@mincers.com.