Our Story

The T-Shirt Deli Co. Story goes like this.  We opened in November of 2003, and boy was it a lot of work. Not only did we want to find a way for Chicagoans to customize shirts, baby hats, underwear, and dog tees – but we wanted to make giving a gift just as fun as receiving it.

So we searched far and wide for gleaming white deli cases, rolls of perfectly waxed butcher paper, brightly colored stickers, and open-air wicker baskets to display our freshest selection of tees. We selected homegrown American Apparel brand shirts, and started to stock as many font choices and colors as cheeses in a New York deli.

Soon the city of Chicago was buzzing with the news of a t-shirt store with a whole new flavor. The T-Shirt Deli was picked as a “best one of a kind shop” by Frommer’s Guide to Chicago, and has been featured in O Magazine, Travel+Leisure, Chicago magazine, Chicago Social magazine, Women’s Wear Daily, the Chicago Tribune, and Lucky, among others.

Now The T-Shirt Deli, Co. is proud to provide an online store, and don’t you worry – we are actively expanding outside Chicago and into your neighborhood very soon.