Jonathan Boudreau Huard is the owner of The Merchant’s Shop at 548 Chemin Tremblay. This store offers all kinds of cards and games for sale and trade, and according to Jonathan, it’s something he’s wanted to do for a very long time.

Originally from Nicholas-Denys, Jonathan knows there is a need for a shop like his.

“This is a center for everybody to just come around and trade in their stuff to get other items they want.”

The shop started as Jonathan’s personal collection, and as it continued to grow, he decided to open The Merchant’s Shop in July 2020.

“I was not prepared for the demand. It was way, way more than I anticipated, and within the first month, I had to adjust how I was doing business.”

Jonathan has had a couple of different employees to help with pricing items, handling administrative tasks, and operating the shop during opening hours. 

He has also been hosting Friday Night Magic at Layer’s 3D Print Studio, where he brings a group of people together to play Magic: The Gathering. This has been going on for 60 straight weeks.

“Ever since we moved there, we’ve had around 12 people, and then after a while, it became 15, and last week we were 23. This is just casual play, not us making tournaments.”

While Jonathan is happy with where he is, he is looking for a new commercial space. He currently doesn’t have enough room to host game nights, and he hopes to find a good-sized space where he can host different card nights every night of the week. He already knows there’s demand for Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Lorcana, and One Piece, and he would like to dedicate a night to each.

Jonathan knows there are activities in the area, but feels this could be a great way to get people out.

“I want to create an environment for people to come. I’ve had a lot of  people coming out on Friday nights to play and socialize.”

Jonathan also has a website where you can view his inventory. You can fill out a form if there’s a specific item you’re looking for, and if you want to check the value of different cards, you can search for them on the website. You can even use the buylist function to enter your cards on the website and view a cash or trade-in credit value he would offer.

You can visit the website here.

This is a fascinating store and a perfect place for collectors. We wish Jonathan the best in finding a new commercial location that will allow him to host more events.

That’s it for another edition of The Northern Heat Report—the place you come to hear the stories that have yet to be discovered.