If you didn’t get the reference in the title, I recommend you go watch Zombieland, it’s a good fun zombie movie.
Anyways, Tyler and I packed our bags and took the 5 hour drive to Columbus, Ohio for the Midwest Sports Spectacular. We left early Friday morning and after driving by the Budweiser Brewhouse, we arrived at the show just as it opened.
Fridays are usually a good buying day at shows because they typically are not as busy as the weekends. This was the case in Columbus because on Saturday morning there was a line out the door. Luckily for Tyler and I, we were able to work the floor Friday and hit all the tables that had singles. We were able to make one large deal with Tim, who was in town from Chicago for the show. He had a large selection of cards and a good number of cards that fit our needs. Including one Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls autographed card that which will be in the next Sapphire Basketball Series.
After getting a good haul of cards for the night, it was time for the big decision, where to go for dinner? I thoroughly enjoy trying to find new places to eat when we go to these shows and Columbus was no different. We decided on a place called Pies and Pints. It had a great beer selection and good pizza. We watched some basketball, and got to see Zion and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Miami Heat as we ate and had a flight of beer.
Since we were able to hit all the tables on Friday night, Tyler and I decided to try to hit some of the local card shops. It’s not often we have the opportunity to check out local shops when we are on the road. So we wanted to take this opportunity to hit the pavement and see what we could find within the community. Our first stop was Triple Play Sports Cards and Memorabilia where we met Ron, the owner. He had a nice store front and had a number of showcases as well as sports memorabilia and apparel. He had a number of showcases with a good selection of cards. We found a number of cards and worked out a good deal with Ron. It was a great way to start the day and was just a glimpse of what was to come.
Our second stop was Card Collector 2 in Grove City. The store was very clean and was quite busy when we walked in. Ryan, the owner, was just finishing up another deal when we came in which gave us time to look over his showcases. He had a lot of Ohio State cards, which made sense as he is located so close to the campus, but he had a number of other really nice cards. We were able to pick out a number of cards before heading for lunch
We walked down the street from Ryan’s store and found Local Cantina. Everyone who knows me, knows I can’t turn down some good tacos and Margaritas. So, if you watched our Instagram story, the correct answer is that it was me who had the Margarita not Tyler. I tried the Nashville Hot Tacos and they were amazing, the queso with chorizo was also top notch. If you are ever in the area and stop by Card Collector 2, I recommend walking down the street and having a few tacos as well.
The last stop on Saturday was Neuhart Cards. Again this was another great store. It was very clean and had a large selection of cards. We had bought cards from Neuhart on eBay before and it was nice to put a face to the name as we worked with the owner Keith and were able to get a large selection of cards.
Saturday night ended at a local German Restaurant across from the hotel called Wurst und Bier. We got a nice German Beer and had a very nice dinner and reflected on the day that was. We definitely didn’t expect Saturday to go how it did when we left for Columbus on Friday, but we couldn’t have been more pleased how the day went. We met 3 great people within the industry and hope that this can be the beginning of great relationships going forward as we definitely will be heading back to Columbus again. While there, I received an email from another local dealer who had a shop a few hours away. He had spoken to Keith who had told him about our visit. He wanted to know if we would like to stop in on our way back to Buffalo. This is what the hobby is about, building relationships!
On Saturday, on our way home we stopped at Youngstown Sportcards in Youngstown Ohio to meet with the owner George. He was an avid collector who had recently decided to open his own store. He had a nice little shop and had a good selection of cards for being fairly new. Like all weekend, it was nice to visit the local shops and is definitely something we need to do more often. After all our traveling and socializing, we grabbed one last meal at Primanti Bros and headed back to Buffalo. Until next time!!!
T & T
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