Underground Printing
For more than a century, 133 East Franklin Street has reflected what people came to Franklin Street to buy, from cameras and film to Carolina gear in the windows students pass every day.
Before it could become Underground Printing, 133 East Franklin Street was once Foister’s Camera Store; at the time, it was Chapel Hill’s second-longest running business, after being established in 1911. Foister’s burned down in 1925, and the owner moved the store across the street, and the company stayed in business for another 40 plus years.1 161 Franklin was it's longest running location, but it was in 133 two separate times, returning to the building in the mid-eighties after 133's stint as the North Carolina Cafeteria in the '70s.2 While Foister’s offered many different services, it was best known as a camera store (hence the name) and a place to get pictures printed and developed.
By the mid-twentieth century, Andrews-Henninger Company occupied 133 East Franklin. Contemporary ads list the address and show a department-store mix of clothing and household goods that made it a downtown staple for students and town residents.
In 1989, the building was sold once again to Kathy Sapp, where it became Chapel Hill Sportswear. A UNC alumna, she has been a part of the Chapel Hill community for many years.3 Chapel Hill Sportswear has been a staple since its founding, and it got its start in 133 East Franklin Street. In the iconic curved windows, students walking past would be enticed by the apparel. From 1989 to 2011, the building sold Carolina gear until Chapel Hill Sportswear moved down the road to 119 E Franklin.
Since September 2012, Underground Printing has operated at this address, continuing the site’s retail connection to campus life as part of a national custom-apparel company.4
This single storefront tracks Franklin Street’s evolution from locally owned general merchandise and camera services to branded collegiate apparel. The continuity is visible in the storefront itself and in the steady pull of student and alumni shoppers.
Bibliography (Images)
1) “135 E. FRANKLIN STREET – Chapel Hill Historical Society.” 2023. Chapelhillhistoricalsociety.org. Chapel Hill Historical Society. 2023. https://chapelhillhistoricalsociety.org/julians-135-e-franklin/.
2) The Daily Tar Heel, July 9, 1954, Page 9.
3) Courtesy of Kathy Sapp and Tracey Beine
4) “Underground Printing.” 2025. Undergroundshirts.com. Underground Printing . 2025. https://undergroundshirts.com/pages/custom-t-shirt-printing-chapel-hill-nc.
- The Daily Tar Heel, July 9, 1954, Page 9. ↩︎
- Bernard Lee Bryant, Occupants and structures of Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, North Carolina at 5-year intervals, 1793-1998 (Chapel Hill, N.C.: Chapel Hill Historical Society, 1999). ↩︎
- Feagans, Virginia. Personal interview with Tracey Beine. Oct 1, 2025. ↩︎
- “Underground Printing.” 2023. Undergroundshirts.com. Underground Printing. 2023. https://undergroundshirts.com/pages/our-story. ↩︎