Today I set out to see what I can learn about the street vendors selling Bengals AFC Championship merchandise on Beechmont. There were two I could find between Wolfangel and 275.
The first one was located at the old BP by Mount Carmel-Tobasco Rd. When I arrived the vendor had just finished making a sale. Two women driving a pick up truck spent $90 on various items before departing. While the vendor was still counting his money I asked him:
“Is this your shop?”
To be fair, I think I sometimes still carry some of that investigative tone I developed during my cop years. I’m still trying to shake that off, but it seems to just jump out during some of these cold street approaches.
“Who’s asking?” he replied.
He didn’t even look up from the cash, and that’s when I knew I messed up. Needless to say, the BP vendor’s story is short and sweet:
“I don’t need no pictures or story. I ain’t got no teeth and the Bengals gear sells itself.” Then he smiled at me to prove his point and went back to counting his cash.
Fair enough, I thought, and everything he said was certainly hard to argue with. Not being the kind of guy who badgers people for stories, I followed the ladies in the truck and left the area. I headed in-bound on Beechmont to talk to vendor number two, focusing on a softer approach.
He was set up in front of Smashburger. He worked under a tent adorned with Bengals flags and was surrounded by tables stacked with an assortment of Bengals merch.
“How’s it going?” I asked, trying not to jump the gun like last time.
“Good,” he said, noticing my camera. “Just hoping to make a little money today.”
I knew right away his honesty was a good sign. He decided to go with T-shirt Guy for his name, and said he’s from Florida. He made the trip to Cincinnati just to sell the gear laid out around him, and said he works for someone else, but will get a cut of all the sales.
T-shirt Guy was energetic and friendly, making small talk with just about everyone who would engage. Occasionally he would jog stiffly from his make-shift shop to a vehicle parked a few spots away for inventory purposes. During the time I was there he had a constant flow of customers, almost all of which purchased something.
“We were hoping Cincinnati would win,” T-shirt Guy said. “We were in Kansas City last year and the people there were boring and had no energy. Cincinnati is a fun city, and that’s where we like to do business.”
A woman exited her car and strutted up to the table yelling “Who Dey!” T-shirt Guy smiled and cheered with her before explaining his pricing.
He said they print out all the gear before they even know who wins. “The loss of the other half is all built into the cost,” he said, and they just donate the losing gear to homeless shelters.
That means they have the Bengals Super Bowl Champion gear all ready to go for Monday after the Super Bowl. “We won’t hang the Super Bowl stuff up yet because we don’t want to jinx the Bengals,” he said. “But I really think they are going to win.”
I wonder what would happen if you asked for a pre-destined Super Bowl Champion shirt. My guess is that he would be happy to sell you one.
T-shirt Guy plans to be in town for next couple weeks and might jump around a bit on Beechmont, so keep your eye out for him.
As far as pricing goes, T-shirts are $20, long sleeve t-shirts are $30, and the hoodies are $40. They have adult and kid sizes. The Joe BURR-OH design is the one that really caught my attention.
I don’t have any info on the mysterious BP guy’s merch. It did look like he had some jackets for sale, hung up on a rack outside his white van. Mention Beechmont Stories to him and receive 0% off your next order.
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Great post, street photography too me is very addictive for many reasons. Some YouTube shorts might be cool, kinda a mini documentary of course that ruins the still photography. I saw both vendors and wandered if the bp guy just squatted without permission. Btw the writing was perfect cause it was like you were talking to us.
Thanks Tom. I agree about the importance of still photography. There’s something more impactive about it.