Taybor Pepper’s childhood interest in Pokémon was rekindled buying a birthday gift for a neighborhood kid in Dexter. A mutual acquaintance connected him with James Finn, who had been developing leagues as a “Pokémon Professor” in Detroit’s northern suburbs. | J. Adrian Wylie
Taybor Pepper knows that the National Football League’s initials can also mean “not for long,” so he’s diversifying his career beyond special teams into specialty retail.
The long snapper with 100 pro games under his belt is teaming with Pokémon aficionado Jay Finn at Ginza Marketplace, their new downtown shop focused mainly on Japanese trading cards and collectibles.
“When I was thinking about what I want my life after football to look like, being a local business owner is something that I had a really good feeling in my chest about,” says the thirty-one-year-old Dexter resident, an alumnus of Saline High School and Michigan State.
After he was released from the San Francisco 49ers in March, he traveled to Japan, particularly the Akihabara neighborhood of Tokyo, a focus for the otaku subculture of anime, manga, video game, and trading-card hobbyists. He hopes to latch on with a new team this fall.
Pepper’s own childhood interest in Pokémon was rekindled in 2022. “A neighborhood kid was having a sixth birthday party, and my wife was like, ‘Let’s go find a gift for him. It’s Pokémon-themed,’” he recounts. “I hadn’t bought Pokémon cards in well over a decade, and in that process, got completely hooked again just buying cards for someone else.”
In a card store in northern California, “I was able to find my community within the trading-card space,” he says, “and it was really great.”
A mutual acquaintance connected him with Finn, who had been developing leagues as a “Pokémon Professor” in Detroit’s northern suburbs. “Now I have these kids that are going to Worlds [Pokémon’s global championship] every year. They’re getting college scholarship money!” Finn says.
Adopted in infancy from Korea and raised in the Belleville area, Finn nostalgically recalls his parents leading him toward cultural connections in Ann Arbor: “The trip of going to the Hands-On Museum, going down to Pinball Pete’s, and then checking out Wizzywig [an early anime store] was my weekend of excitement that I could ask for as a child.”
Pepper and Finn partnered on a business plan and a storefront in the century-old Marchese Brothers Building, last home to Your Media Exchange. Aware that hobby shops can seem intimidating to newcomers, they aim for an inclusive, approachable experience. Their goal is to build community and foster appreciation for the print quality and artistic detail particular to Japanese card brands.
“I’ve really wanted to see something like this back in downtown,” Finn says. “There’s not really been a good southeast Asian import store or anything really pertaining to that since Wizzywig was here—God, fifteen, twenty years ago.”
Finn will spearhead daily operations and host leagues and tournaments for Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, and other card games at the back tables. They’ve imported Japanese vertical card display cases and Gashapon vending machines that randomly dispense a range of collectible toys.
Pepper also points to a selection of custom models, “blind boxes” of animal figures, and the latest rage: Labubus, plush elf-like toy creatures.
The store’s name, which translates as “silver guild,” refers to Tokyo’s upscale shopping district. Pepper is eager to build a brand evincing Main St. elegance while comfortably catering to a younger clientele.
“Being a card-store owner is going to be the ultimate level of being able to bring so much joy to not only kids, but their whole family,” he smiles.
Ginza Marketplace, 319 S. Main. Wed. & Thurs. 11 a.m.–8 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.–7 p.m., Closed Mon. & Tues. ginza-mkt.com
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