“It’s something other than video games, and it brings people together.”
That’s the snappy way Evan Borin explains the appeal of Lego and his new Bricks & Minifigs franchise, which buys, sells, and trades new and pre-owned sets, parts, and accessories.
His own connection with Lego began six years ago. His twins were tweens and showed an interest in the popular construction toys, so he bought a bulk lot weighing 1,000 pounds.
But as the kids’ attention turned elsewhere, the loose stock sat until he and his wife, Salima Matariyeh, used them to decompress.
At the time, both were CVS district leaders. “We were fried, driving 4,000 miles a month to cover our stores, and you’re working seven days a week,” he relates. “And so at the end of the night, we were just sorting Lego, and it was kind of like fun bonding for us.”
They listed items online, including on the Lego-specific BrickLink marketplace, “and in 2022 we got so busy that we couldn’t keep up with the orders.” They bought franchise rights from Orem, Utah–based Bricks & Minifigs (which is unaffiliated with the Lego Group), opened their first store near Lansing in 2023, and their second on Jackson Rd. near Zeeb in December.
Pre-built, pre-owned sets are the top-selling category, but hobbyists will also find new sets as well as individual miniature figures and a myriad of bricks and other pieces to feed their creative appetites. One popular offering is a half-gallon tub of bulk bricks for $25, refillable for $15 on future visits.
Lego themes span all ages and interests, and the trade-in model lets young users update their assortments as they grow, say, out of Minecraft and into Star Wars.
Lego’s botanicals collection has a home in the store’s “flower shop,” where full bouquets or individual floral pieces can turn an assembly activity into a form of home decor.
Borin says first-time customers generally come looking for new sets, “because that’s all they know,” but over time are inspired to “deviate into the other areas. They buy pre-builds and they rebuild it themselves, or they buy bricks from our table and they just make their own creation and build on what they already have.”
Bricks & Minifigs, 5204 Jackson Rd. (734) 800–4183. Sun.–Thurs. 11 a.m.–7 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 10 a.m.–8 p.m. bricksandminifigs.com/annarbor-mi
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