Nov. 16 – ROCHESTER – Lego fans started lining up the day before in preparation for the 10 a.m. grand opening of a store sure to please Lego fans.
Bricks and Minifigs held the grand opening of the Rochester location on November 16, 2024 at 221 28th St. SE, Suite 800. Fans came from around the area to tour the new location and enter the raffles. The first ten people in line won a monthly supply of Lego for a month, so that was an incentive for fans to show up early.
“The first ten customers, one per family, will essentially get free Lego for a year,” says Rob Warland, owner of Bricks and Minifigs. “So they get to go to the bulk table and fill a two-gallon bag for free. That’s worth over $1,000, so that was part of the draw there for people.”
This is Warland’s second franchise location in Minnesota. The first store, located in Roseville, has shown enough success to expand into Southeastern Minnesota. People from the Rochester area were constantly coming to the Roseville store, and Warland decided it was the perfect place for a new store.
The location is mainly buying, selling and exchanging, so there will not be many new sets for sale. There will be a few new sets, but the rest will be used sets, minifigures and loose Legos. Customers have the option to bring in individual Lego pieces or purchase them without the full set.
The Roseville location had a line of people for hours during the grand opening, and Rochester also had a line. Customers were offered coffee and hot chocolate while they waited to be admitted. Once inside, customers could shop, build and learn from Lego masters.
Even fans from their other location made the drive to support Warland and company. Gina Olson came from Coon Rapids to tour the store and support the business.
“We visit them all the time in Roseville,” Olson said. “We got here around 7 a.m. and we were one of the first 10 in line.”
Olson especially enjoys making different sets and is always up for a challenge, but she also likes to make her own things. It’s the variety that really attracts fans like Olson.
“We buy just about anything, but really enjoy the opportunity to actually build something,” Olson said. “The only thing we don’t do is Star Wars.”
However, not everyone who stopped by has been to a Brick and Minifigs before. Oliver Kling-Punt and his father, Ryan, came to the grand opening after attending the Brick Convention earlier this year. Bricks and Minifigs had a stand there and are big Lego fans.
Ryan has been playing with Lego blocks since childhood and now he enjoys building with Oliver. Oliver has developed a love for sets, but he prefers building his own MOCs, or ‘my own creations’ for Lego fans. They are used to having to go to the big stores to buy new sets and are happy with more variety.
The store was packed all day with people waiting outside the door and Warland expects the excitement to continue. He hopes the buzz will continue to grow as more and more people are introduced to Bricks and Minifigs.
“Most people in Rochester don’t know about Bricks and Minifigs, so now people are coming, they’re going to tell their neighbors and classmates,” Warland said. “So I hope it will continue to grow in some sense. The buzz will be different for today than it will be for the future, but awareness is everything, so we want to continue to build that fun and excitement for people.”
