New Member – John Santore

Hey folks!

First off, I wanted to thank the folks I met at the 11th Hour Brewing LUG event. Everyone was really cool and welcoming and that was much appreciated.

After writing a bit of a novel here, I accidentally closed my tab, and have to start over on this. That’s probably for the best as it was long and rambly. Not that this won’t also be long and rambly.

About me: I’m John Santore, who, aside from being an AFOL, works in cybersecurity by day (FedRAMP if that means anything to you). I am not a native Pittsburgher, however I came here in ’91 for college and never left, so maybe I get honorary status? I’m a bit of an eccentric: I am also a professional boxing judge, fledgling stand-up comic, music snob, art collector, pinball nerd, avid reader, shark enthusiast (which I originally typoed as ‘snark enthusiast’ and, well, that probably applies also), and just strange guy. I also have a birthday tradition of petting a sloth at the National Aviary (non LEGO pic attached). Oh yeah, I’m also opening a Bricks & Minifigs store in the area, but more about that later.

My LEGO journey: This is probably somewhat familiar to many of you. As a child in the late 70s, early 80s, I loved playing with my LEGO. I didn’t have the Yellow Castle, but I think I had most of the next wave of castles, and also a lot of the early space sets. As I grew up, I wound up drifting away from LEGO. Fast forward about 30 years. My wife and I started watching LEGO Masters, and that was the start of the comeback! Also, my wife likes to do jigsaw puzzles; they are great stress relief. I would sometimes help, but my propensity to rename the various jigsaw puzzle piece shapes with obnoxious names wound up being a distraction.

Since I never used Technic as a kid, and having seen some of the cool stuff they were doing on LEGO Masters, I figured I’d go give them a try. I got two sets: the Mars Rover Perseverance (42158), and the Airbus H175 helicopter (42145). They seemed like a good bang for my buck as far as number of gears and what. I did the rover first, and frankly, didn’t care for it too much. It just seemed flimsy and the mechanical functions were sort of lame. I will say, though, I did like the universal joint axle that ran along the side. So inauspicious start… and then I did the helicopter and I was totally and completely sucked in! Since then, I’ve been buying sets faster than LEGO can produce them, and my collector/completist mindset has not help. Turns out my favorites are mostly the Technic sets, but also the Modular Buildings. I have 16 of 20, I believe (just missing the expensive rare ones…)

So, in the process of trying to track down NIB retired Modulars, I came across a company called Bricks & Minifigs. And further, they were looking for franchisees. As a 30+ year corporate dude, I thought it might be fun to finally get to call my own shots. Therefore, for my midlife crisis I did my due diligence and decided to buy a franchise. I am expecting the store to open on or around mid-July.

I want to pause for a second and offer a disclaimer here. Yes, I now have a business interest in LEGO, and I get that. And while I hope I’ll offer things you will all find valuable, my goal is to be a contributing and respectful part of the local LEGO community not a money grab. To that end, I’m always open to feedback, suggestions, or advice on things you all think will benefit the community or just be cool. I will have a fair amount of display space, and it’s absolutely available to this group. I’m also contractually required to spend certain amounts of money on marketing activities, and so if there are things I can help sponsor or help with, please reach out. I also have meeting space which the LUG is welcome to use. I’m looking at creating a ‘rare item wishlist’ and probably other things I can do that I haven’t even thought of yet that I think might be interesting. Open to suggestions.

So the details on the store itself: As mentioned I’m targeting mid-July or thereabouts to open. I have obtained a lease, and the location is:
4960 Route 8
Allison Park, PA 15101

The store will be located in the same plaza as the Home Depot, where Coldwell Banker used to be (maybe I’m more of a Pittsburgher than I give myself credit for after all!) a few stores down from the Chipotle. The plaza itself is about a half a mile south of the Turnpike exit. The store itself is pretty big, about 3700 sq feet, which is on the larger side for a Bricks & Minifigs stor

I’m just now messing around with the store social media stuff but feel free to follow on:
facebook: Bricks & Minifigs Pittsburgh North
instagram: bampittsburghnorth
email: pittsburghnorth.pa@bricksandminifigs.com

Expect more announcements and stuff there, as time gets closer. Right now I’m dealing with renovation logistics.

Also, I expect to be hiring a store manager and some associates in the next few months. If you know of anyone with retail experience who might be interested, have them reach out.

I am looking forwarding to being an active participant in the local LEGO scene, and can’t wait to see some of your builds.

Thanks,

-John