'Underground' to close Wednesday

Dennis Laszlo, owner of The Underground retail store at Kirkwood Avenue and Walnut Street, walked slowly across his showroom floor Saturday afternoon to tell a customer that everything was half off in the store, which would be closing its doors for good Wednesday.\n"We're disappointed," Laszlo said of his brief stint in downtown Bloomington.\nNamed after the British subway, The Underground opened in December 2003, selling cell phones and accessories alongside a British theme. The store moved from its location near the Commons in the Indiana Memorial Union to below The Book Corner on the Monroe County Courthouse square, where Laszlo transformed a small kiosk into a large, renovated store.\nWhen they relocated, business was thriving, but Laszlo said he blames Cingular's merger with AT&T for its subsequent decline.\n"When we started," Laszlo said, "we were the only AT&T cover dealer on campus, but after the merger, we became one of six." \nSophomore Ryan Reider said he believes the location and overpricing of the British merchandise were the reason for the store's closing.\n"I've shopped here a few times, and it just seemed a little overpriced for me," Reider said as he left The Underground Saturday afternoon. He added that placing the store in such an inconspicuous location was probably another reason for the closing.\nLaszlo also said if he could do it over again, he wouldn't have relocated to underneath The Book Corner and cited a lack of foot traffic as an issue in The Underground's closure.\n"It seems like foot traffic doesn't go much farther than the (Monroe County) Library (on Kirkwood Avenue)," Laszlo said. He noted that The Underground got the business it needed from car traffic, but he doesn't think casual shoppers on Kirkwood were making the trek all the way to the square.\n"We've had a pretty negative experience in Bloomington," Laszlo said.\nRachel Bredemeyer has been working at The Underground since July and is the only employee left of six original staffers. Bredemeyer, who came to the United States four years ago from Yorkshire, England, said the closing has left her worried about her future.\n"I've applied at about 10 places," Bredemeyer said with an English accent, "but I haven't heard back."\nBredemeyer has applied at local Bloomington retailers, including another Cingular store, but she still plans to collect unemployment benefits until she finds another steady job. \n"It's terrible about the closing," Bredemeyer said. "You get treated much differently in a small business than in a large corporation."\n"It was great working with IU students," Laszlo said. He added that he thinks he'll concentrate his energies on his other Cingular retail store in nearby Bedford, Ind., rather than attempting to expand into another part of Bloomington.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Pat Giese at pgiese@indiana.edu.