‘Everything is awesome’ for Shelley couple behind new LEGO store in Ammon

Do you want to know what’s happening in the eastern Idaho business scene? We’ve got you covered. Here is a rundown of this week’s business news across the valley.

BIZ BUZZ

SHELLEY

Shelley couple opening Bricks & Minifigs LEGO store in Ammon

SHELLEY – As Gen and Arthur Miner anticipate the opening of their new business in Ammon, they say, “Everything is awesome.”

The Shelley couple are the owners of Bricks & Minifigs, a new LEGO store opening at 3160 East 17th Street in early 2024.

Did you know…

• LEGO blocks originated in Billund, Denmark, in 1934, according to Brittanica. Toymaker Kirk Christiansen named his company LEGO after the Danish phrase leg godt, which means “play well.”

• The first plastic LEGO brick hit the market in 1949. Minifigures were introduced 20 years later.

• National Geographic reports there are an average of 80 LEGO bricks for every person on earth. The number sold in a year would reach more than five times around the world.

• More than 340 million minifigures were produced last year. If you placed them all in a line, it would stretch from London to Beijing — that’s 4,908 miles!

• The world’s tallest LEGO tower is made with 465,000 bricks and is 94 feet tall.

The business is focused on buying, selling and trading new and used LEGO. It’s the franchise’s first location in eastern Idaho.

“We actually take LEGO we bring in and we clean it up and put it together before putting it on the shelf for you to buy,” Gen tells EastIdahoNews.com. “We also offer something called certified used sets where we count every single piece and make sure it’s all there so you can start over and build it like it’s brand new.”

Space will be available for birthday parties or special LEGO-themed events. It can also be used for corporate workshops, mini retreats and team-building activities.

The store is a dream project for Arthur, who’s collected LEGO since he was a kid. Many of his favorite sets are on display in their home. Take a look in the video above.

Arthur’s mom worked in a toy store when he was a boy. She’d often bring home LEGO sets for him after a long night of work, and that’s how it all started for him.

That love of building things out of LEGO led to his initial career in masonry.

“It transferred into real life. I was laying block and brick, building houses,” Arthur says.

Five years into it, the recession happened, and Arthur found himself out of a job. An insurance job came up, and he jumped on it. He’s been doing it for 13 years now.

Through all of that, his love for LEGO remained.

Gen quickly became aware of Arthur’s passion when they first met.

“I was never a fan of LEGO until I met Arthur. He bought me an architecture LEGO set and I thought this was pretty interesting because he was really into it,” she says. “All he ever wanted for any holiday (gift) was a LEGO set. Over the course of 15 years, we accumulated a lot of LEGO.”

Despite working in a field he wasn’t passionate about, they were making a good living, and life was good.

Still, Arthur’s LEGO collection continued to grow.

When Arthur turned 40 last year, Gen knew it was time for a change.

“Our midlife crisis was deciding we wanted to open a store to sell Arthur’s LEGO. We know there’s a really great brand out there called Bricks & Minifigs. We looked into it and found a spot in (Ammon) that was available,” says Gen.

The Miners are looking forward to sharing that love with likeminded people and providing a fun service to the community.

“We’re really grateful and excited for the opportunity to … give people exposure to something that a lot of people love. We hope you’ll come visit us,” she says.

BIZ BITS

‘Stuff the Trailer’ food drive returns for sixth year

ASHTON — Fall River Electric Cooperative is hosting its sixth annual holiday food drive called “Stuff the Trailer” through Dec. 21.

It’s happening at local grocery stores and will benefit food banks in Rexburg, Ashton, Driggs and West Yellowstone. Nonperishable food items like pasta, cereal, canned fruit and other canned goods are needed.

RELATED | Local food banks dealing with increase in demand, decrease in supply

Local high school senior classes are being invited to participate for the first time. The class who collects the most food will be awarded $1,000 for any worthwhile school project.

Fall River Electric is also inviting local businesses to donate food or money to buy what the local food banks need. To help, call Fall River Electric at (800) 632-5726.

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