Image: Presented by HitSeekers
Strike Seekers is connected to the Braxton Barrel Home in Fort Mitchell.
Braxton Brewing co-founders and father-and-son-duo Greg and Jake Rouse have blended their dual passions for card collecting and craft beer into their hottest enterprise venture with the opening of Hit Seekers Sporting activities Playing cards in Fort Mitchell.
Greg Rouse is a self-proclaimed “card store person.” He tells CityBeat in a modern job interview that he begun accumulating sporting activities cards in 1971, and he and his two sons, Jake and Evan, go to regional card outlets jointly each time they travel.
Hit Seekers started out as an on the net streaming organization on both equally Facebook Live and the Loupe app, a reside e-commerce streaming platform constructed for sporting activities card collectors. Two many years of huge accomplishment led the Rouses to take a opportunity on opening a brick-and-mortar retail outlet of their individual.
At present the shop carries a broad stock for all ranges of collectors. Though Hit Seekers focuses on sports trading cards like baseball, basketball and football, they also present a lot more market franchises in the market.
Substantial-stop collectors can come across a $30,000 Tom Brady card, a $22,00 Joe Burrow card and a rare Ken Griffey Jr. card from his time at Archbishop Moeller High School to title a couple of. The benefit of these playing cards, according to Rouse, is driven by the participant, yr, rarity and model. Spending budget and value containers are also offered for the frequent collector.
Strike Seekers delivers non-athletics playing cards, too, like Pokémon, Star Wars and Topps Formula 1 trading playing cards. Greg claims the store is continuing to extend on that stock.
Greg describes the freshly crafted retail outlet as “not like any card shop that you’ve got genuinely ever observed just before.”
He means that practically. Strike Seekers’ is crafted to replicate the come to feel of a ballpark — the flooring is covered in astroturf and also has dirt-colored concrete painted with white baselines to resemble a baseball infield.
“When you stroll in the entrance doorway of the of the store, it’s in essence like staying in centerfield of a stadium,” he says.
In contrast to regular card retailers with rows of white containers and minor area to store, Hit Seekers takes advantage of what it calls a “modern day working day” strategy to card buying and selling with an emphasis on fostering a community. Though display screen instances run alongside every single wall, the store’s format is primarily open up and focuses on a neighborhood desk in which the Rouses strategy to host trade nights, inviting collectors to congregate and converse around their leading collections.
The moment consumers make their way to “home plate,” they can loosen up, watch Tv set and acquire a canned Braxton beer, h2o or soda at the store’s custom made-created, glass-top bar, which characteristics some of Hit Seekers’ most-coveted and assorted inventory, like PSA-graded Michael Jordan playing cards and cards of other prime athletes like Cristiano Ronaldo and Tiger Woods.
“Everybody will come to feel at ease right here and fit in listed here, no matter of what their gathering preferences are,” Greg states.
Though running the brick-and-mortar, Greg suggests the Rouse loved ones programs to keep on to improve their on-line organization via the Loupe application with the assist of two in-property studios for livestream advertising.
“(It) just helps make it extremely present day from an e-commerce system — the skill to purchase in person or online,” Greg suggests.
Purchasers are invited to perspective just one of the studios via a car-wash-fashion window and check out a streamer “crack a situation” are living — opening and describing the contents of a pack of buying and selling cards for the remote purchaser on Loupe. Rouse has a workforce of 5 folks operating the studios, offering and streaming 15 to 16 several hours a working day, 7 days a 7 days.
Greg claims the notion for Hit Seekers’ good results is basic: “Make it awesome. Inventory it well. And create a feeling of neighborhood.
Hit Seekers’ selection is “huge and continuing to improve,” Greg suggests. He is repeatedly digging and pulling from his previous collections to uncover new stock readily available for sale.
Strike Seekers at present lets the general public to stroll in and sell particular collections to the store, however, among significant general public desire to sell and Strike Seekers’ superior selectively for their inventory, Rouse strategies to go to appointment-only obtaining.
Keeping items in the relatives enterprise, Hit Seekers is located at 2501 Dixie Highway, Fort Mitchell, attached to the Braxton Barrel Property.
Uncover operating hours and find out extra at hitseekerscardbreaks.com.
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