The store offers trading cards, tabletop games, and space for tournaments and casual gameplay.<\/p>\n
Magic: The Gathering Craze<\/p>\n
Many card shops specialize in one game or another.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s true at The Gathering Emporium, which has a strong focus on Magic: The Gathering, one of the world\u2019s most acclaimed trading card games.<\/p>\n
The card game brought in a record-breaking $1.7 billion last year. That\u2019s partly due to partnerships with other popular franchises like \u201cThe Lord of the Rings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are at the most popular they\u2019ve ever been, and they\u2019ve been a thing since 1993,\u201d said Jacob Mayo, the store\u2019s manager, of the trading card game.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s typically played in-person with players often relying on a local shop to meet new opponents.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes going to the game store and meeting new faces, seeing new players, seeing new strategies and how people else play \u2014 that\u2019s a huge thing because now I\u2019m getting tested, now I\u2019m playing my deck against something else, how am I going to get better?\u201d Mayo said.<\/p>\n
The Gathering Emporium, located at 8503 Wyoming Ave. N., wants to provide that meeting space for enthusiasts. They\u2019ve got nearly a dozen tables to host nightly card games.<\/p>\n
Another big draw is the cards they sell.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve got cards for as cheap as a quarter or as expensive as $1,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the other things is when people come in, I want them to be able to see plenty of cards, because selection is always what I want when I walk into a store,\u201d Mayo said. \u201cWe\u2019ll carry those 25-cent cards, those 50-cent cards, those 75-cent cards \u2026 we carry the really big stuff too. Like we\u2019ve got the really specialty Rhystic Study, confetti foil, like $2,000. But not a lot of game stores are going to carry that kind of a card.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"sign](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/the-gathering-emporiumb-roll-bk-20260623-still.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
At The Gathering Emporium, a new store in Brooklyn Park, you\u2019ll get a chance to embrace your inner wizard.<\/p>\n
Building Connections<\/p>\n
While card collecting has its own appeal, the connection between two players is paramount, Mayo said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou get to hang out with your friends, and you also get to, kind of get that mental stimulation,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd in a world where all our stimulation kind of comes off of screens today, I think that\u2019s a big part of why this is also exploding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Along with Magic, the store offers Warhammer and other specialized tabletop games.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Gathering Emporium will celebrate its grand opening on Saturday, July 11.<\/p>\n