By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
When Joe Koch’s son was still in high school and playing sports, his wife wanted to design her own Larned Indian shirts to support their son. That was nearly two years ago, and the Koch’s desire to create their own designs continued to grow by offering custom embroidery and screen printing on t-shirts.
Operating the side gig from inside their home, the Kochs have decided
to open a brick-and-mortar store in Larned.
"We were thinking on how we could grow," said Koch. "We're not going to grow anymore in the house. Let's try something new and add to our business to see if we can grow even bigger."
Along with custom designs and embroidery, Koch’s new storefront will include a
western boutique. The business, Koch’s Kustoms Double K Boutique, plans to open
next week at 423 Broadway.
"The building was a bar or a grill for so many years and never worked," said Koch. "When it came available, I jumped on it. I felt it was time for the building to change to something other than a bar."
Koch joked that after a lot of cleaning they were finally able to remove the grease smell from the facility.
Koch’s Kustoms plans to do a soft opening the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 25 and will have most of their inventory in stock.
