New Lego store coming to Raleigh hopes to stand out from other franchises. Here’s how

A new Lego store is opening soon in downtown Raleigh , but its owner plans for the store to be more than just a place to buy bricks.

“We’re trying to make this an experience more than it is just a Lego store,” said Pranav Harish, who owns the new Bricks & Minifigs franchise .

Like other Bricks & Minifigs locations — such as the ones in Cary , North Raleigh or Durham — the shop will sell new, retired and used Lego products .

One-of-a-kind products

But Harish, a Lego collector with a special interest in rare and unique pieces, wants customers to be able to see Lego products they’ve never seen before.

“We don’t want to be gatekeepers for very high-end items,” Harish said. “Most of them just sit in people’s private collections all day, and they have no hope of being shown to the public, aside from, like, quick snippets of videos here and there that you might see on certain influencers’ pages.”

Through relationships with other collectors, cultivated as Harish bought and sold Legos, he plans to display one-of-a-kind Lego products in store .

“We want to show people the cool stories that go behind each of the individual pieces and what made them what they are,” he said. Harish hasn’t yet announced which specific pieces he will exhibit.

Where and when will Bricks & Minifigs open?

Bricks & Minifigs is renovating the 2,400-square-foot space at 206 Fayetteville St. in downtown Raleigh.

A grand opening date has not been shared, but the store is expected to open this holiday season .

Raleigh Lego giveaway

Details about the event are still under wraps, but Bricks & Minifigs will give away $5,000 worth of Lego items from Harish’s collection.

“I just wanted to give those away and try to see, almost like ‘Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,’ just, you know, who can randomly take away something that could potentially add a lot of value to their life?” he said.

The territory for Harish’s franchise is South Raleigh, but he was only looking for potential storefronts in downtown Raleigh, he said. He wanted to be close to the convention center, where events such as GalaxyCon occur.

Bricks & Minifigs franchisee starts nonprofit

In addition to opening the retail store, Harish is working to set up a nonprofit, Peace by Piece , which will give away Lego items to the community.

“Growing up in an impoverished community, I remember Lego used to help me out a lot, to stay out of trouble and be able to focus on something that was better for my life,” Harish said.

He had limited access to Lego as a child, but his desire for the items never wavered. After years working in the hospitality industry, he had the disposable income to purchase the sets he couldn’t afford earlier.

Harish began amassing Lego pieces, and his collection grew so large that he knew he needed to pare down or open a museum.

He wanted to share his collection with the public but needed to generate revenue. Operating a Bricks & Minifigs franchise provided brand recognition and the flexibility to make the store unique.

Ask the North Carolina Service Journalism Team

Have a question about your community you’d like answered? Or maybe a tip or story idea you’d like to share? The service journalism teams at The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer want to hear from you.

• If you have a question about the Charlotte area , send The Charlotte Observer team a question by submitting questions to this form .
• If you have a question about Raleigh or a Triangle area community, send The News & Observer team a question by submitting questions to this form .

A new shop focused on mental health & self-care will open soon in Raleigh. Here’s when

These NC cities have among the largest share of remote workers in the US. Here’s why