05/27/2026
As some of you may know by now, the owner and founder of Zimmerman’s, Allan Brill, passed away this past week after a long battle with cancer.
If you were a friend, acquaintance or customer of Allan’s, you know what a unique, generous and hilarious man he was. Allan cared deeply for his community and was a fixture of Grand Avenue, from the day he opened the store in 1984 with his mother. He was committed to his customers till the very end and took great joy in his work, always making the screen printing process and shopping experience personable, social and accessible. Nothing brought him more joy than people stopping in to chat and say hi to his dog Zelda.
For 42 years, Allan ran Zimmerman’s with great pride, initially opening the shop as a surplus and clothing store before pivoting to screen printing and t-shirts. He was a very artistic and creative person, recreating and printing dozens of postage stamp t shirts. Allan worked with clients from around the world, but most important to him were the people here in the Twin Cities, many of which he formed loyal connections with, assisting them with whatever he could.
We are honored to be carrying on Allan’s legacy at Zimmerman’s and will continue to foster the great relationships he had here at the shop and on Grand Avenue.
