Tucked away in an unassuming industrial area of Winona in southeastern Minnesota, you’ll find Northland Breaks. This is a hidden gem of a card shop and I’m glad I made the nearly six hour round trip drive to check it out. The first thing I noticed in is how clean and organized the shop is. The display cases have most of the slabs standing vertically which really presents well.
There is a display case in the middle of the shop that I assume is strategically placed by the front door. This case is filled with Kabooms, Downtowns, and other high-end singles that grab your attention. The other display cases are organized by sport with most of the slabs being modern football (65%) and modern basketball (25%) along with a smaller selection of modern baseball (5%) and Pokémon (5%).
Northland Breaks has the usual stuff you expect in a LCS – sealed wax, supplies, Zion Cases, etc. They also carry their own line of mystery boxes which they have branded as Homegrown in the Northland, Northern Lights, and The Woodshed – the 3 brands represent different value floors/ceilings. They also have mystery packs branded as Northland Gold. One unique line of products Northland Breaks offers are laser engraved wooden bats and pennants produced by Pillbox Bat Co, who is another business based out of Winona. The bats especially are very cool and would be perfect to get autographed.
The back of the shop has a few display cases filled with slabs, the walls are decorated with the PIllbox bats that are available for purchase, and a large table for hosting events, etc. As the name indicates, live breaks are the focal point of their day-to-day operations. They have a breaking studio on the back where they run live breaks from 9:30 AM – 1:00 AM or later every day.
Overall, I really enjoyed my time at Northland Breaks. It’s especially a great shop for modern football and basketball collectors. Prices are clearly labeled, and I found that they are generally at or below comps. I picked up an Ant rookie for $30 that comps at $29.67 and a Justin Herbert rookie for $15 that comps at $20.21. I also picked up one of the Northland Gold mystery packs. I didn’t hit the jackpot with my mystery pack, but it did include solid cards and was a fun rip. Anytime I’m in the area, I’ll definitely be stopping back in. You can find directions, hours, and more in our Card Shop Directory. If you own a card shop and would like us to feature a tour of your shop, please email info@cardsota.com.