5 days ago
Coulee Cards to double its deck in Rochester
Jun. 3—ROCHESTER — Coulee Cards and Gaming , a Rochester sports and game cards shop, will soon more than double in size as it expands into the storefront next door.
Coulee, which has seven stores in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Florida, opened in Rochester in 2022 in the atrium of the Miracle Mile Shopping Center at 162 17th Ave. NW. It is by the entrance to HOM Furniture, Sylvan Learning and Gibbons Optical.
The Coulee stores, owned by Kurt Lange, carry sports cards as well as Pokemon, Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh! game cards plus Dungeon & Dragons game materials.
After three years, the shop has outgrown the original 1,600-square-foot space, so the plan is to tear out a wall and expand into the empty adjacent 1,566-square-foot spot. That was last occupied by Hangers to Hems, a dry cleaning business.
"We're knocking down part of the wall and expanding into that space, so it will be one big store. Basically, we're doubling in size," said Coulee Manager Travis Peek. "The extra space is gonna be really useful for more inventory and then also having more space for players for in-store competitions."
Coulee Cards has four on staff in Rochester. Peek said the plan is to add more staff once the expansion is up and running.
The demolition and construction work is expected to happen this month without disrupting the store's hours. Peek said the goal is to have the space in use in early July.
