Seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady stopped in Chicago on Thursday for a first in the Midwest: the grand opening of his card vault store, Brady’s Sports Memorabilia and Trading Card Shop.
It was a packed house for the pre-grand opening of Brady’s new venture along Addison Street in Wrigleyville.
The former NFL star himself ripped open baseball trading cards with his Card Vault cofounders and Chicago Cubs players. What started as a hobby turned into a side hustle for Brady.
“More than a side hustle, all around the country,” said Brady’s co-founder, Chris Costa.
“Forty years of it,” Brady said. “Forty years for me.”
Brady hosted a private preview on Thursday night with a ribbon-cutting, where guests checked out trading cards and the new store.
“We are such a sports centered neighborhood,” neighbor Hayla Gatewood stated. “Adding this to the town, especially football is very exciting or the neighborhood
Some Wrigleyville residents couldn’t hide their excitement for the newest addition to their sports store roster.
“It’ll bring more avid sports fans like us and we’ll have October baseball and make neighborhood just as fun,” said neighbor Mary Claire Sabalaskey.
Others also expressed excitement.
“I think it’s exciting, I’m a sports card collector been waiting for something like this in Wrigley and right across from the stadium, I think its definitely gonna be huge for the neighborhood,” said neighbor Brett Lanzara.
Built for the hobby, the establishment is backed by the greatest of all time, and that’s all some fans need to know.
“He should come out of retirement and play for the Bears,” one neighbor said. Save the whole city.”
The store officially opens to the public on Friday.