WINDOM - Good Fellaz owner Brad Berg said he wanted his pawn shop to stand out and offer a different kind of experience.
“A lot of times you walk into a pawn store and they’ll have TVs and just really generic-type items with concrete floors,” Berg said. “We try to be a bit more upscale. We try to carry stuff that is more unique and more niche-y.”
Good Fellaz originally opened in Truman nearly three years ago after Berg decided to quit his lobbying job.
“It gets old,” Berg said. “You start to see that both parties hold so much power that they can only do so much if they want to get re-elected.”
After the store in Truman took off, Berg then moved operations two months ago to Windom. He said business has picked up.
“People were driving for 60, 70 miles to come to Truman,” Berg said. “Then we decided to move to Windom, and it took off so well.”
In October, Berg will be expanding his business to Mankato. He hopes to bring the same grade of pawn shop to the bigger city.
“We are a little different,” he said. “Where a lot of pawn shops try to get things as cheap as they can … we try to give fair prices, and I think that’s why we’ve been doing so well. I mean, we aren’t the United Way, but we try to be as fair as possible.”
Berg said Good Fellaz exceeds the rules and expectations of a pawn shop in many ways, adding that his store manager has a background in law that brings a lot of credibility to his store.
“We know how to follow the rules,” Berg said. “We don’t like stolen stuff. We do driver’s license and finger printing so that people who have stuff that might not be legitimate go to other stores rather than come here. We just don’t want to deal with any of that.”
Berg said the switch in career choices has been a rewarding one. He enjoys meeting the people who come into his store and loves to have fun with them.
“I like to kid around a lot,” he said. “People in the store will actually be laughing. … We try to make it more pleasant.”
Although he would like everyone to be happy when they leave his store, Berg said that isn’t always realistic.
“Once in a while I want to help someone and I just can’t,” Berg said. “Sometimes I can tell they really need the money, but what they are trying to sell just really isn’t worth what they want. I have one older lady that comes in and I always overpay her because I can tell she just really needs the money.”
The pawn shop owner said he’s looking forward to the future. He is in the beginning stages of talking to TV channels about creating a show about his store.
“We are talking to Discover and TLC and Real TV,” Berg said. “It would be exciting if we could get that going.”
Berg said the Good Fellaz name goes farther than the pawn shop. He also owns Good Fellaz Motors, has his own online auction webpage at goodfellazonline.com and runs Good Fellaz Coalition.
The coalition is where the name originated from.
He explained that in his years working as a lobbyist, he met many kids who came from abused homes and he wanted to help. He said Good Fellaz Coalition mostly is about making the kids happy and he has hosted for the kids to gather, eat food and get their faces painted.
“We try to be ‘good fellaz’ and help kids that are abused,” Berg said. “I do fund it ... but it’s just about helping kids, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot to help.”
Good Fellaz is located at 288 10th St., Windom. Store hours are 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
