(From left) Gray Burnette, Ryan Fitz and Duke Dodson at Graybo’s (Photo by Ash Daniel)
This past August, Cole Spain came into Graybo’s — the Scott’s Addition sports card shop where he works — on his day off just to rip wax, a collector’s term for tearing open a fresh pack of cards. What he found in his first deck was something collectors dream of: a one of one.
The signed Elly De La Cruz rookie card, part of the 2024 Topps Chrome collection, is the rarest kind of card: gold-lined, reflective and very valuable. Within weeks, the card had sold at auction for more than $116,000.
The minds behind Graybo’s — Ryan Fitz, Gray Burnette and local developer Duke Dodson — converted the former space of The Circuit into a card shop and sports bar in the spring, expanding from their previous space on West Grace Street. With the upgrade, the owners hope to bring exciting moments like Spain’s lucrative score to a broader audience.
“The three of us as kids were really big into [card collecting] and started to see the hobby come back online and in hobby shops around the pandemic, and we just got re-infatuated with it,” Dodson says.
Graybo’s is looking to engage current collectors, former hobbyists and potential new ones with packs, boxes and singles themed around sports nostalgia, new players and specific teams, as well as memorabilia. Fitz, Burnette and Dodson also have an online presence through apparel site Fanatics, where they livestream pack openings and auction the contents to collectors and sports fans.
The connected sports bar, Parlay Bar & Lounge, is also geared toward communal sports watching, with private events spaces, a putting green, full bar and elevated bar food, Dodson adds. Patrons can take drinks over to Graybo’s and sip while browsing cards or breaking packs.
“The hobby shop is our lifeblood because it breeds community,” Dodson says. “Some people come in and they want to buy cards, some people want to come hang out because they have an hour. It’s always been fueled by a strong community.”
