Lego store started by shared family interest.

Walking into Madison Plaza, your eye is immediately drawn to a cart outlined in string lights and filled with colors and unique Lego kits. 

This cart is Brick Ally, and it is going to be the newest place to find Lego kits in downtown Corvallis when it opens on Saturday, April 1.

According to the cart’s owner Ally Rogers, customers of Brick Ally will be able to buy and sell Lego kits. Rogers said she plans to have free minifigures and other Lego-related items as giveaways during the opening. After opening, the plans for the hours of the shop are not yet set and will depend on demand. 

The cart will be the newest tenant in Madison Plaza, a building in downtown Corvallis that Hugh White has owned for more than 39 years. 

According to White, he has around 40 tenants at the moment. He said it is a great feeling to be able to help out budding businesses. 

He has had stores in Madison Plaza that sell everything from educational products to coffee. 

“They’ll open and they’ll immediately have customers,” White said of all of the stores in  Madison Plaza.

There are other stores that sell Lego products in Corvallis, including Gearbox Unlimited which, as of this year, is located in downtown Corvallis. Gearbox Unlimited began in late 2015 on the north side of Corvallis as Brick Circuit. 

“(It was a) vision that we developed in our family; we have 5 kids and we all love Legos,” said Jonathan Brownell, the owner of Gearbox Unlimited. 

 According to Brownell, Gearbox Unlimited has Lego pieces and other items that bring out the creativity in people. 

“The people who are interested in Lego are very, very diverse,” Brownell said.“There are people who use Lego to actually model different kinds of mechanical designs. There are people who use Lego to construct big cities and dioramas.”

While the target audience is diverse in Corvallis, Brick Ally owner Rogers also “likes the idea of appealing to adults.” 

The target market for the two stores is not identical, but both stores have one thing in common: they are companies born out of a family’s love for Lego. 

Rogers and her son had been playing with Lego pieces together long before the beginnings of Brick Ally. 

“(It began as) just (my son) and I building to occupy time to get him off the screens and stuff like that,” Rogers said. “We started to enjoy them together. I got into my little niches and we have his, mine and ours.” 

Rogers sees her store as an adventure for herself and her family. 

“I want to be lowkey, I want to try and make sure that all of the deals I’m finding are getting relayed to the people I’m selling (to),” Rodgers said. “(I want to) make money and promote the fun Lego experience for everyone at a

more affordable cost.” 

She will be running the store only with her boyfriend and her son. It will only be open on weekends for now.

According to Rogers, she hopes to bring the fun of Lego to the Corvallis community.

“I want to be able to make money having fun and making people happy,” Rogers said. 

Brick Ally will open on April 1 in the Madison Plaza at 425 SW Madison Avenue in downtown Corvallis. More information can be found on the store’s Facebook page.