We Are Proud To Announce A New Major Sponsor: Mincer’s

Posted on Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018, 5:00 pm by Jerry Ratcliffe

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We are proud to announce affiliation with one of the most recognizable brands in Charlottesville over the past 70 years: Mincer’s, as a sponsor of JerryRatcliffe.com.

Mark Mincer, whose grandfather started the business on July 19, 1948, is owner of the legendary store that is a leading supplier of everything UVa. Under his leadership, Mincer’s now has three locations fans can shop: at the traditional Mincer’s store located on The Corner; Mincer’s at Stonefield, which is five years old; and online at Mincers.com

“As we have passed these milestones in the past, I’ve flet like it’s blowing your own horn, and my family has never been big on stuff like that,” Mincer said of the store’s recent 70th anniversary. “It’s something we’re quietly proud of.”

There’s nothing quiet about Mincer’s on autumn weekends for a Virginia home football game, though. The store is jam-packed with Cavaliers fans.

“Those weekends are really exciting for us,” Mincer said. “We only get six or seven of those weekends a year. When football is strong and successful, that can be 20 percent of our annual business. There’s that much more traffic.”

So much in fact that the store opens an hour early and extends an hour later than usual to accommodate fans.

“It’s neat to be here on those days,” Mincer said. “That’s been part of my life for as long as I can remember.”

A 1985 graduate of UVa’s McIntire School, Mincer is a huge sports fan and a huge Virginia fan. He remembers one particular weekend that was the best ever in the store’s history after a historical win on Nov. 2, 1995.

That’s the night George Welsh’s 24th-ranked Cavaliers stunned No. 2 Florida State, 33-28, at Scott Stadium, marking the first time any ACC team had beaten the Seminoles since they joined the league.

Like any good businessman, Mincer recognized an opportunity and began planning in August for a potential big weekend in November. He developed an idea for a souvenir T-shirt marking UVa’s landmark upset.

“We had all the plans in place,” Mincer remembered.

He had a business outside of Raleigh ready to print the shirts at a moment’s notice. Everything was set, but Mincer nervously sat through that historic night, with the outcome in doubt until the very end when the Cavaliers’ defense stopped FSU within an inch of the goal line, setting off a wild celebration all over town.

“They started printing [shirts] right after the game and left there at 4 a.m., and we had the shirts that morning,” Mincer said. “It was the biggest Friday our business ever had.”

Mincer has witnessed lots of the great moments in UVa sports history and has immortalized those with special T-shirts, gobbled up by Wahoos who want a special momento. A season ticket hold for football, basketball, and recently baseball, most of his life, Mincer has had T-shirts printed up for Virginia championships in basketball, football, and UVa’s College World Series title in 2015, along with tennis and other feats.

“Unexpected championships are always the best for business, like that national baseball championship,” he said. “Fans are so enthusiastic about those.”

He has special memories of his own dating back to when he was 12 years old and used to keep his own scorebook of UVa basketball games at University Hall during the old days of Jefferson-Pilot’s “Sail with the Pilot” days of Thacker and Packer.

“I was there the night (UVa All-American Barry) Parkhill got his 51 points (Dec. 11, 1971, a record that still stands),” Mincer smiled. “I still send him a little email each year on the anniversary. He was 19-of-31 (field goals) and 13-for-13 (at the line).”

He watched from his grandmother’s house when UVa won its first ACC Tournament in 1976. Of course, he watched through the Ralph Sampson years, including Ralph’s final home game against Maryland.

He also watched Virginia’s ascent in the football world, including the first-ever win over Clemson (1990) and the rise to the nation’s No. 1 team later that season. Had to be a T-shirt, right?

Mincer’s grandpa was a foreman of a pipe factory on Long Island back in the 1940s, and that business closed right after WWII. The G.I.’s returned from the war, and brought back pipes. A traveling salesman told Mincer’s grandfather that he should open up a pipe and tobacco store in a college town.

His family narrowed their choices for a move to either Dartmouth, Lexington, Va., or Charlottesville. Dartmouth was ruled out because his grandmother didn’t like the northeast cold. Lexington was eliminated because at that time there wasn’t an ideal location to service both W&L and VMI.

Charlottesville was perfect.

So, in 1948, Mincer’s moved in above Littlejohn’s Delicatessen until the summer of 1954, when it moved to the present location. That store was half as wide as it is now. When Mark graduated, Mincer’s expanded to its present size in 1986.

What started out as a pipe and tobacco shop, later became a store that sold records, newspapers, magazines, stationary. It was home of the Western Union, which often sent high schooler Mark Mincer out into the community delivering telegrams.

Time changed, society shifted away from tobacco. UVa students, which used to be all male, sporting coats and ties, transformed. There wasn’t much need for T-shirts, sweatshirts and school jackets in those days unless you were a letterman.

Now, Mincer estimates that clothing and gifts for UVa is 95 percent of the business.

The biggest basketball apparel day came when ESPN’s GameDay came to town for the first time for a game against Duke. Fans arrived early at John Paul Jones Arena, but that portion of the event ended at noon, sending fans out into the community until the game later that evening.

Many of them migrated to The Corner for food and drink, and a little shopping at Mincer’s.

“That was the best January day we ever had at the store,” Mincer smiled. “It was like a big football Saturday.”

The store at Stonefield has been a big plus for the business because many locals don’t make it to The Corner. They may stay at the hotel there, go out for a movie or a meal at the Stonefield complex and stop by Mincer’s, located near L.L. Bean, which has been a bonus.

Then there’s the online store.

“Online has been good,” Mincer said. “People order items every day. If they order by noon, we ship it that afternoon and if they’re in state, chances are they’ll get it the very next day.”

Any Wahoo worth his salt knows Mincer’s, and we’re thrilled to have such a strong brand as one of our sponsors. Check out their advertisement on our site beginning today!