If your kids like Legos, or if you’re an adult Lego fan looking for a nostalgia fix or to sell some (I received $200 for my 65 pounds of colorful little plastic bricks), then Rogue Brick Builders’ Lounge might be the place for you.
What sets this shop on Hulen Street apart, said owners Ryan and Rachel McBryde, is the open building tables. Ryan said that while they were preparing to open, they noticed that the handful of other Lego fan shops in the area typically didn’t have the most fun part: a play area. The Builders’ Lounge opened last month and offers Lego fans a place to buy, sell, trade, and even play with Legos. Rogue Brick also hosts nights specifically for grown-ups. There’s a $10 cover charge to these BYOB events –– regular passes are $10 per kid ($5 for every extra young one) and no charge for adults.
The shop, Ryan said, gets “the biggest reaction from 6-year-olds and 36-year-olds.” With their massive collection of older sets that are no longer in production, this business has found its niche.
“We see a lot of parents rediscover building with Legos with their kids,” Ryan said, “maybe equal parts nostalgia and the need to be creative.”
Ryan said he rediscovered his love for Legos in 2013 while building an X-Wing Fighter to hang in his son’s bedroom. From there, he found other adult fans online and a slew of independent Lego shops and play areas in Texas, and he wanted in on the game.
“I usually have an adult beverage nearby when I build,” Ryan said. “We love Legos, and we’re grown-ups, so why not? We’ve met so many great parents and big kids interested in Legos that we wanted to provide a place where everybody could enjoy that community.”
With sets depicting everything from the Bat Cave from the 1966 TV version of Batman (complete with Adam West and Burt Ward mini-figures) to a massive fleet of almost every Lego Star Wars ship ever sold, it’s clear Rogue Brick offers a taste of the bygone days of childhood to everyone. Enjoying a beer while rummaging through Rubbermaid bins of Lego bricks from my childhood definitely helped me navigate the stress of college once or twice.
On the first adult fan night recently, barista and aspiring coffee shop owner Corey Bloodworth popped in. As the 23-year-old browsed around, he said he was transported back to a simpler time in his life. “I used to love Lego Star Wars,” he said. “And seeing the variety [Rogue Brick] had really took me back.”
Bloodworth walked the store marveling at all the fully built Star Destroyer ships and X-Wing Fighters used as decor and finally settled on his purchase: the Land Speeder set he enjoyed playing with as a child. “The way I see it, Legos as an adult can serve as a stress-relieving hobby,” he said. “That can take us back to when we didn’t have to worry about being an adult.”
As he left the shop, Bloodworth said he was going to enjoy the rest of the evening just sitting back at home and building something cool.
