Lefty’s continues to evolve in Burlingame

“Herb Washington,” shouts one employee — a fellow middle-aged contemporary — without skipping a beat.

“Ah, that’s right,” the customer responds with pure relief that failing to remember the name thankfully wouldn’t haunt him for the rest of the day. “Herb Washington.”

These are the kinds of exchanges that have been unfolding inside the confines of the Peninsula’s best-known sports card and memorabilia shop for more than 3 1/2 decades. It has served as a spot where nostalgia oozes and names like Washington’s still hold magic — serving as time capsules that bring back the unique quirks and legends of sports.

“It’s like ESPN Radio in here sometimes,” Jim Bernadini, the store’s owner and founder, said.

Bernadini launched the first version of Lefty’s in 1988 in San Bruno, back when sports card shops were a rare find. It has since moved its operation to the Burlingame Plaza and offers a wide selection of collectible single cards, hobby boxes, gaming accessories, autographs, photos, candy and an abundance of other goods.

The shop’s regular customers come in three to five times a week to evaluate the newest products and they’ll spend anywhere from $5 to $500, depending on their overall mood and boldness. For others, it’s a chance to reignite the hobby of their youth, one they haven’t actively participated in for decades.

“Some people come in and they want to get back into it,” Anthony Saccuman, an employee who works behind the counter, said. “They haven’t done it in 30 years, so they don’t know the difference now. They used to have three different sets of cards and now there’s 30, so they don’t know what and who’s good to collect.”

The sports cards and memorabilia business has treated Lefty’s especially well over the past 15 years, as major Bay Area teams have celebrated multiple championships and lengthy success. First, the San Francisco Giants with three World Series victories in a five-year span from 2010-14, the Golden State Warriors’ miraculous four NBA titles and the consistent ability of the San Francisco 49ers to roll out appealing teams every season.

“We go as the economy goes,” Bernadini said. “We go as local teams go. The economy’s good, people spend. Our teams are good, people buy the items for the teams. We’ve been very lucky here.”

While most businesses — especially those in small and niche industries — reported significant financial losses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the sports card market found itself booming while shattering all-time highs in sales and popularity. According to a Yahoo! Finance report from earlier this year, experts expect the industry to continue expanding, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 21.8% over the next eight years.

Bernadini says the 2020 premiere of “The Last Dance” might have added to the rising popularity, but also the general nature of the pandemic keeping individuals inside with newfound hobbies. He also credited collectors’ fascination with young athletes, like NBA forward Zion Williamson, as another key reason for the surge.

“I really feel bad talking about it because so many people lost their businesses — lost a lot of things,” Bernadini said. “Our industry did the opposite. We had gains that we’ve never seen before.”

Despite the current satisfactory model, Lefty’s has opted to stay on the cutting edge of new trends to emphasize its desire to adapt to a relatively changing and unpredictable business. They’ve turned to a range of strategies, like employing high school and college-aged employees who are well-informed on the fast-moving trends of what’s hot and what’s not around the products.

Saccuman is a 19-year-old Burlingame product and current second-year communications student at College of San Mateo. He grew up ingrained in sports, often debriefing with his parents about the different games being played and exchanging spicy football takes with his friends.

Once a frequent customer as a kid, Saccuman has worked at Lefty’s for north of three years in various roles: helping upload products to the online store, helping consumers with questions, answering emails, assisting in player autograph signings, and shipping packages.

“I’ve always wanted to work in sports, so I kind of thought of what would be a good place to start,” Saccuman said. “I didn’t want to be doing something I didn’t want to be doing. It doesn’t really feel like work sometimes, which is the best. If work doesn’t feel like work, you’re doing pretty well in life.”

Saccuman has also played a key role in forging Lefty’s digital footprint by hosting a Facebook show every Monday night to open packs of cards in front of a live audience. He’s created content for the shop’s growing social media pages, too, complementing an email list amassing 15,000 people.

“Social media is the best way to reach these younger people because everyone has a phone nowadays — everyone’s going through Instagram, Twitter and TikTok and all that good stuff,” Saccuman said. “As sports cards become more popular and a little bit more modern, the store has to, too.”

Many are also aware of Lefty’s from its highly-publicized autograph signings, featuring some of the biggest names in the Bay Area sports landscape.

In a recent visit to the store, the Lefty’s social media team interviewed Giants infielder Brett Wisey for a reel to discuss the Olympics — not baseball. Wisely, who has likely only been asked baseball questions during the course of the summer, widened his eyes and jumped at the chance to unveil his appreciation for swimming.

It was different content, but original nonetheless.

This is the area of the business where Bernadini, now in his 60s, admits he feels like a newcomer. Hence, the shift to a youth movement.

“I tell them on day one: I expect you to change things,” Bernadini said. “I want you to tell me what is good and what we need to do to get to the next level. I may not know about it, so you have to explain it properly. Having the kids is one of the smartest moves we’ve made.”

Longtime customers of Lefty’s have witnessed an evolution in the overall layout of the store — another blueprint for evolving and welcoming new types of interest to the store. Directly after walking into the store, one could immediately notice the colorful sight of candy on the right-hand side.

A basket of Tootsie Rolls sits below a framed photo of 49ers legend Dwight Clark making “The Catch.” Big League Chew is now visible underneath a photo of New York Yankees great Mickey Mantle.

The store’s addition of candy — an idea executed sometime around 2018 — has created a unique mix of customers, especially fueled by children migrating over after school. While some legitimately enjoy the thrill of picking out multiple Jolly Ranchers for a few cents each, others have tried their hand as minientrepreneurs.

“You get some of the kids walking in like, “Oh, well, I sell these at school for $1 and I buy them here for 20 cents,’ Saccuman said. “And if that’s great — you do what you want. You go make your money too.”

The future of sports cards and memorabilia is always fluctuating and Bernadini says Lefty’s will stay true to sticking with the trends. For now, he says the company hopes to continue a strong working relationship with Fanatics, that completed a purchase of Topps trading cards in 2022, while additionally taking advantage of retail’s slow disassociation with cards.

“We have to get our faces out there more,” Bernadini said. “We can keep doing what we’re doing, but we have to stay a little bit ahead of the curve.”