For nearly 50 years, a small, unassuming store has been the go-to spot for TCU students looking for unique items representing TCU’s Panhellenic or Interfraternity Council Greek organizations.

Less than two miles from campus, Brown Bag Etc. has long been part of the collegiate scene, offering customized merchandise for TCU’s largest Greek organizations.

“All of my Delta Gamma merch is from Brown Bag,” Sophia Taglione, a sophomore strategic communications major, said. “I went back again this year to get stuff for my little.”

Brown Bag offers everything from apparel to room decor and jewelry with Greek designations in the store and online.

“We are in the Greek and camp business, so we just want to offer as many selections as possible, all year long, that pertains to those two industries,” owner Rani Grandstaff said.

Brown Bag Etc., which was founded in 1978, has changed ownership through the years. The store went out of business during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Grandstaff said she revived it.

“My friends who went to TCU and have daughters at the school wanted me to bring it back, so I bought it,” Grandstaff said.

Grandstaff shared that the store has stayed busy since, delivering to campus every day and coordinating all things bid day for TCU’s Panhellenic community.

The store’s website has extended its reach beyond Fort Worth and TCU.

“We mail out to all [colleges]. But TCU is our core, being that it’s just five minutes away,” she said. “We try to be modern versus the same old stuff every year.”

She said that even with all the support from the community, Brown Bag still must face the complications of being a retail-based business.

“We just hope to stay in business,” Grandstaff said. “Retail is really hard right now. The licensing is very uneconomical that we have to pay for products. But it’s a very niche business.”